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Life and Letters 
of St. Paul 


By DAVID JAMES BURRELL, IDMDE IDB) 


Author of The Resurrection and the Life Beyond, 
The Apostles’ Creed, Old Time Religion, 
The Home Sanctuary, Verilies of 
Jesus, Etc., Etc. 





AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 
SEVEN WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET 
NEW YORK 


Copyright, 1925 
by 


AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 


CHAPTER 


CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


Part I 
SAUL OF TARSUS 


At Home 

AT COLLEGE 

FINDING HIMSELF . 
A Wronc BEGINNING 
RicHtT ABouT FACE 
FORGOTTEN 

HomME AGAIN 

LiFE BEGINS 


Parr II 
PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 


INTRODUCTION 
FOREWORD 
SAUL OF TARSUS 
THE SUMMONS 
THE RENDEZVOUS : 
THE First JOURNEY. Chart 
At ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA 
In THE MOUNTAINS OF LYCAONIA 
THE RETURN 
A PARENTHESIS 


PAGE 


CHAPTER 


Wa Qbe 


IX. 


CHAPTER 
ibe 
ihe 


CONTENTS 


THE SECOND JOURNEY. Chart . 


On To EuROPE 

AT THESSALONICA 

At Breraa 

At ATHENS 

At CoRINTH oe aes 
THe ‘THirp JOURNEY. Chart 

A Busy YEAR . 

At MILeETus 

BouND FoR JERUSALEM 
AT CHSAREA . 


PaAut’s Last VoyYAGE. Chart ; 


AT RoME 


PARTLLT 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 


BARNABAS: ‘“‘A Goop MAN” 


JoHN Marx: THE YoutTH 
WuHo FLINCHED 


StrAs: A SINGER 


TimotHy: ‘“THE GENTLE Boy 


OF LysTRA” 


LuKE: ‘“THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN”’ 


LypIA: THE PURPLE-SELLER 


AQUILA AND PRISCILLA 


PAGE 


{3 
79 
84 
88 
93 
oy. 
105 
111 
117 
123 
1352 
141 
149 


PAGE 


163 


181 
197 


211 
223 
233 
245 


CHAPTER 


VIII. 
IX. 


CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


Apo.tos: ‘‘MIGHTY IN THE SCRIPTURES” 
“OnrE MNASON OF Cyprus” 
EPAPHRODITUS: COMRADE IN ARMS 
OnESIMUS: A SLAVE 

SosTHENES: “My BroTHER” 

Titus: “My PartTNER”’ 

PHasBeE: THE “DEACONESS” 

A Bopy GUARD 


Part IV 
PAUL SSLEGEERS 


‘THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS . 
First CorINTHIANS 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 

THE EPpIstLE TO THE GALATIANS 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 
THe EpIsTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 
First THESSALONIANS 

SECOND THESSALONIANS 

First TIMoTHy 

SECOND TIMOTHY 

DHE EPISTLE TO L1rus 

THE EpistLE TO PHILEMON 
THE EpisTLE TO THE HEBREWS 


PAGE 
263 
ESET, 
287 
oo 
315 
327 
Boo 
349 


PAGE 
361 
SH. 
390 
403 
419 
431 
445 
454 
467 
478 
489 
496 
505 
520 














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PART 1 


SAUL OF TARSUS 


re 





Saul of Tarsus 


I—AT HOME 


A traveller, threading his way among the 
dirty, narrow, devious streets of modern 
Tersoos in Turkey, finds it difficult to realize 
that it was once a great metropolis. In ancient 
times it was the capital of the important prov- 
ince of Cilicia. It was situated in a fertile 
plain, a dozen miles from the Mediterranean, 
on both banks of the river Cydnus and under 
the shadow of the Taurian range. Its river 
swarmed with ships bringing argosies from 
distant lands. One of the three great. univer- 
sities of the ancient world was there, besides 
a famous amphitheater. Its chief renown, 
however, is due to the fact that it was the 
birthplace of the Apostle Paul, who lived 
there until he was thirteen years of age. 

He never forgot the old home town. In 
his later years, when buffeted by a mob in 
Jerusalem and put under arrest as a disturber 


7 


8 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. -PAUL 


of the peace, he began his defence from the 
steps of the Castle of Antonia in these words, 
“T am a Jew of Tarsus, a citizen of no mean 
city 

It is not improbable that in his boyhood he 
saw Cicero there and may have talked with 
him; for at that time the matchless advocate 
had a home in Tarsus. 

One eventful day the boy would never be 
likely to forget; it was the day when Cleo- 
patra with her retinue came sailing up the 
Cydnus on a gilded barge to meet Marc An- 
tony. With what festivities the city must 
have greeted that reckless pair of lovers! 


And there were other never-to-be-forgot- 
ten days when the amphitheater rang with 
the enthusiasm of the Olympian games. Some- 
where on one of the swarming terraces of 
stone sat an undersized, timid, ambitious lad 
who doubtless mourned because he could 
never be an athlete, but who was destined to 
crystallize, in the writing of certain immortal 
letters, the record of those running and wrest- 
ling matches as stimulating parables of the 
Christian life. “I keep my body under” (glo- 
kopso; literally, “I blacken my eyes,”) And 


SAUL OF TARSUS *) 


again, “Forgetting those things which are be- 
hind and reaching forth unto those things 
which are before, I press toward the mark!” 
When the Roman soldiers came marching 
through the town on their career of con- 
quest, it must have been impossible for this 
ambitious youth to resist the martial fever. 
He never could be a soldier; but the time 
was coming when he would effectively ex- 
hort his brethren to “put on the whole armor 
of God” and “quit themselves like men.” 
The boy’s father was a Jew who, prob- 
ably for some distinguished service, had been 
made a free Roman citizen. But he continued 
to be a Pharisee of the most straitest sect; and 
young Saul was brought up accordingly in 
the orthodox faith. When the rams’ horns 
sounded the call to worship on every Sabbath 
day he took his place with his father in one 
of the chief seats of the Synagogue, joined in 
the responsive service of the Psalter and lis- 
tened to the exposition of the Law. On “week 
days” he attended the Rabbinical school—a 
famous school, where, possibly, among others 
he became acquainted with another boy 
named Barnabas from the nearby island of 


10 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Cyprus, with whom he was to have closer 
relations further on. 

Meanwhile he served his apprenticeship 
as a tentmaker. ‘Tarsus was one of the great 


centers for the manufacture of Cilician tents; 
and every Jewish boy, however exalted his 


social position, was required to learn a trade. 
As to Saul’s mother we know nothing.* 


He had a sister, however, who is men- 
tioned incidentally in connection with Paul’s 
imprisonment in Jerusalem, A. D. 58. This 
sister’s son, who chanced to be in Jerusalem 
at that time, got wind in some way of a con- 
spiracy to kill Paul and succeeded in saving 
his life (Acts 23: 16-24). By this it would 
appear that, though Paul had probably been 
ostracized by his family at the time of his 
conversion, they still cherished some remnant 
of affection for him. “Blood is thicker than 
water.” In our time converted Jews are dis- 
owned by their relatives in the same way. 


One thing is clear; the boy Saul was 


* Of her, who was his earliest and best teacher, he tells 
us nothing. Did she die, like Rachel, the mother of Benjamin, 
the great ancestor of his tribe; or did she live to grieve over 
her son’s apostacy from the faith of the Pharisees and die un- 
reconciled to the obedience of Christ? Or did she believe and 
obey the Saviour of her son?—Conybeare and Howson. 


SAUL OF TARSUS 11 


brought up in the severest rites, beliefs and 
prejudices of Judaism. He was taught to 
regard the Gentiles as “dogs” quite outside 
of the household of Israel and the Common- 
wealth of God.* 

While he was passing his early years in 
Tarsus there was another Boy growing up 
five hundred miles away, in Nazareth of Gal- 
(lec inw@asvcivmaditcercntimwayalie whadea 
mother, with whom he shared a sacred secret 
(Luke 2:19), and under whose loving tute- 
lage he was increasing in wisdom and stature 
and in favor with God and men. ‘The time 
was coming when these two were to meet face 
to face on the Damascus highway; and when 
that happened, Saul of ‘Tarsus would fall at 
the feet of Jesus of Nazareth in a complete 
and perpetual surrender with the cry, ‘“What 
wilt thou have me to do?” 

In the meantime all that Saul of Tarsus 
does and all that is done for him—every 
lesson at the family altar or in the Rabbinical 


*'To exhort him to the practice of religion he had before 
him the example of his father praying and walking with broad 
phylacteries, scrupulous and exact in his legal observances. 
And he had, moreover, as it seems, the memory and tradition 
of ancestral piety: for he tells us in one of his latest letters 
that he served God “from his forefathers.”—Conybeare and 
Howson. 


12 LIFE AND LETTERS OF st. PAUL 


school—his shadowy hopes and purposes as 
vague as castles in the air—would be lead- 
ing him on toward that one supreme, divine 
event, his conversion to Christ; for it is as 
true as Scripture that “there’s a Divinity that 
shapes our ends, rough hew them how we 
will.” 


Il-—AT COLLEGE 


It is safe to say that while young Saul was 
attending school at ‘Tarsus he was looking for- 
ward to something far better and more at- 
TractivVcmiUtinc rout mAs tnce Loyal sonore 
Pharisee he would scarcely be content with 
the sort of instruction he was receiving there, 
inasmuch as it was deeply tinctured with the 
Greek culture of Alexandria. Even in his 
study of the Scriptures he must use the Sep- 
tuagint version, against which his Hebrew 
soul would revolt. Nevertheless this enforced 
acquaintance with the Greek language and 
literature was destined to serve a very definite 
purpose on many occasions in his after life.* 

One dream must have sustained him in the 
training of those early years—the dream of 
entering the University of Jerusalem in due 
time and perfecting himself there in the study 





* The readiness with which he expressed himself in Greek, 
even before such an audience as that upon the Areopagus at 
Athens, shows a command of the language which a Jew 
would not, in all probability, have attained, had not Greek 
been the language of his childhood.—Conybeare and Howson. 


13 


14 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


of Jewish law. At the age of twelve, as a “son 
of the law,” he would put on phylacteries, 
and a year later could be matriculated in that 
far-famed institution of learning. 

The day came at length when he bade his 
parents and sister good-by. It was destined 
to be a long parting had he but known it. 
They doubtless stood with him on the dock, 
and waved their hands to him as he went 
sailing down the Cydnus to the Great Sea. 
The shores of Cilicia presently faded from 
his view; and, on the second day out, he 
would be gazing at the peaks of Lebanon. 
The ship doubtless put in at Cesarea; and 
the rest of the journey would be along the 
caravan route upward to the summit of the 
hills, from which he would be looking down 
on Jerusalem—Jerusalem “beautiful for situ- 
ation, the joy of the whole earth’—Jerusa- 
lem the city of his dreams! 

But a great change had recently come over 
that city. Herod the Tetrarch, catching the 
brilliant spirit of his imperial chief, had spent 
vast sums of money upon it. He had built a 
palace, a spacious amphitheater, and a castle 
which he named “Antonia” in honor of his 


SAUL OF TARSUS iby 


dearest friend. And—hated though he was 
by his Jewish subjects—he had rebuilt their 
neglected Temple and adorned it with such 
magnificence as even Solomon had not thought 
of. 

The mind of young Saul, however, would 
be chiefly concerned about the institution of 
learning which was to furnish his equipment 
for life. At this time two schools were con- 
nected with it, that of Hillel and that of 
Shammai, both intensely Jewish in spirit. | 
One of the rabbis connected with the former 
was Gamaliel, who was everywhere known 
and revered as ‘“The Flower of the Law.” At 
his feet, as chief instructor, our young student 
had elected to sit during his college course. 

It required not less than fifteen years to 
complete the curriculum and graduate with 
the degree of “Rab” or Teacher of the Law. 
It is scarcely necessary to say that practically 
the entire course of study was in the Scrip- 
tures. For since the Government of Israel 
was theocratic and, therefore, subject only to 
divine law, the one text-book which must be 
mastered was the Old Testament, familiarly 
known as “The Book of the Law.” This was 


6 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


expounded with the aid of two very bulky and 
elaborate volumes of commentaries, known as 
The Mishna or “Traditions” and The Ge- 
mara or “Controversies.” 

Our young student would require no prod- 
ding to stimulate his enthusiasm in the pursuit 
of such congenial studies. We can imagine 
him “at the feet” of the revered Gamaliel, or 
engaged in disputation with his fellow stu- 
dents—not infrequently lost in the wander- 
ing mazes of “fixed fate, free will, foreknowl- 
edge absolute,” much like theologues of mod- 
ern times—and always looking forward to 
the proud day when he should be ‘“‘admitted to 
the bar.” 


Meanwhile great things were happening. 
Just as the boy began his University course 
the Emperor Augustus died; which is another 
way of saying that the Golden Age of Rome 
was drawing to a close. The enthronement 
of the unspeakable Caligula meant that a 
deadly leprosy had infected the mortar of 
the walls of the Empire, which were even 
then beginning to totter to their fall. 

One day—it must have been when Saul had 
been five or six years at the University—it was 


SAUL OF TARSUS 17 


rumored that an unknown Boy of twelve, in 
a conference with the rabbis in the temple, 
had shown himself a prodigy of wisdom in 
spiritual things. It was subsequently learned 
that he was a country boy from Nazareth, up 
among the hills, unschooled, a carpenter’s ap- 
prentice, who, having reached the age of 
twelve, had put on phylacteries and come up 
to Jerusalem to attend his first Passover. The 
discriminating questions and thoughtful an- 
swers of this precocious youth were so far be- 
yond his years that the Professors in the Uni- 
versity and their pupils must have been great- 
ly puzzled to account for him. 

It might well be that Saul was disappointed 
in not having seen him. How could he know 
that one day in the future he was destined 
to see the face of that young Nazarene shin- 
ing down upon him in a light above the 
brightness of the sun and to hear his voice 
ringing along the corridors of all his after- 
lifer 

And how was he to know that, by the same 
token, his after-life was to be inextricably 
bound up with a group of fishermen who 
were just then pursuing their plebeian trade 


18 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


at Bethsaida by the Sea of Galilee? Thus 
far his fondest hopes and anticipations had 
been associated with rabbis and other learned 
men. 

Not that any great disappointment awaited 
him; oh, no, but a tremendous surprise! 
Thanks evermore that, however man may pro- 
pose, God disposes as He wills. ‘The time 
was coming when Saul of Tarsus would see 
a hand reached down from heaven to over- 
turn all his most elaborate plans and pur- 
poses. Would he demure Nay, never were 
colors struck more voluntarily and readily 
than his would be! So runs the parable of 
Providence. ‘The best-laid plans of mice 
and men gang aft aglee.” But the Lord never 
overturns a man’s house of cards without 
building a better house, even an heavenly, for 
him and his household to dwell in. 

To apprehend that fact is to learn the secret 
of a happy life. It is an antidote for disap- 
pointment. Moreover, it is a sure guide to 
fervent and effectual prayer, since it brings us 
into perfect accord with the perfect will of 


God. (Read Romans 8:16-27.) 


III—FINDING HIMSELF 


At thirteen, when young Saul of Tarsus 
entered the University of Jerusalem, he was 
a double-dyed aristocrat. Why not? No one 
could boast a prouder Jewish lineage.* He 
was the son of a Pharisee “of the most 
straitest sect,” and indoctrinated from his 
birth. Moreover he was a Roman citizen, not 
by purchase but by inheritance due to some 
notable service on the part of his forebears 
which warranted the boast, “I was born free.” 
(Actse22228.)) } 

It is not likely that a young man of this 
sort would be unmindful of things happening 
here and there during his college days. 

Two or three years before his graduation 
there were rumors of a certain Carpenter of 
Nazareth who was going about working al- 





* We infer, from the whole bearing of the Apostle, that he 
was bred to all those amenities of the higher circles of life 
which so stood him in stead when he was compelled to deal 
with men of high rank or culture. Through all the vicissi- 
iides of his eventful life he seems always to have borne 

“without abuse 
The grand old name of gentleman.”—Taylor’s Life of Paul. 


19 


20 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


leged miracles and claiming to be the long- 
looked-for Christ. Presently, when he ap- 
peared once and again in Jerusalem with his 
preposterous claims and the people flocked in 
ever-increasing numbers to hear him, the 
rabbis, who were convinced that the impos- 
ture had gone far enough, caused him to be 
arrested and brought before them for trial. 
One can easily imagine the interest with 
which this occurrence was discussed by Saul 
and his fellow students; how they gathered 
in the early morning in the court of the High 
Priest’s palace to await the rendering of the 
verdict; how, possibly, our young student 
heard it whispered that a certain fisherman 
who had shambled in and was warming him- 
self at the guardsmen’s fire was a follower 
of the Galilean. Little did this proud scion 
of the Jewish aristocracy dream of the part 
which that same fisherman was to play in his 
after-life! 

One would like to know whether Saul 
found his way into the presence of Pilate and 
heard the strange judgment, “I find no fault 
in him at all: take ye him and crucify him;” 
and whether he was among those who fol- 


SAUL OF TARSUS 21 


lowed the bound culprit along Via Dolorosa 
crying, ‘““Crucify him!” It is more than pos- 
sible that he stood under the Cross and joined 
with his rabbinical superiors in the cry, 
“Come down, if thou be the Son of God! 
Come down and we will believe thee!” And 
when the tragedy was over he would rejoice 
with them that the Carpenter of Nazareth 
would trouble them no more with his pre- 
posterous claims. 

And then more rumors and still more trou- 
blesome ones. ‘There were those who said 
that this Jesus had risen from the dead; that 
he had shown himself repeatedly to his dis- 
ciples; that on one occasion above five hun- 
dred of them had seen him; and finally that 
he had ascended out of their midst into the 
open sky! All this must have caused great 
excitement and incredulity among the young 
men who were pursuing their studies in the 
Holy City. 

And fuel was doubtless added to the fire 
by a further report of certain unaccountable 
things which occurred ten days after, at Pen- 
tecost, in an open court in Jerusalem, where 
thousands were so impressed by certain super- 


22 LIFE AND‘ CET TERS Ossi, PAUL 


natural phenomena that they forthwith cast 
in their lot with the followers of Jesus. The 
central figure in that event was the same fish- 
erman whom Saul, very likely, had seen 
warming his hands at the guardsmen’s fire. 
In an endeavor to explain the singular events 
referred to, this fisherman had charged the 
people with the red-handed murder of their 
Messiah! Such presumption as this must have 
aroused the bitterest animosity of Saul and 
his fellow students, who knew full well, as 
they supposed, that no mere Carpenter could 
sit upon the Davidic throne or be expected 
to restore again the decadent glory of Israel. 

It must have been with extreme satisfaction 
that a few days later they saw that same 
troublesome fisherman haled before the San- 
hedrin for trial. It appeared that he and 
another of the friends of the Nazarene had 
professed to heal a lame beggar at the Beau- 
tiful Gate of the Temple; whereupon a crowd 
had assembled creating a disturbance of the 
peace. Peter, as spokesman for the defence, 
addressed the court insisting on the Messiah- 
ship of Jesus; after which the prisoners were 


SAUL OF TARSUS 23 


dismissed with an admonition to hold their 
peace. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that the arro- 
gant soul of the young Jew must have been 
greatly wrought up by this annoying series 
of events. 


IV—A WRONG BEGINNING 


Saul graduated from the University in his 
thirtieth’ year (A. -D.o3%)) 3 Blisporstmen nce 
was Rab, meaning “Master.” A year or two 
of post-graduate work in connection with the 
temple service or the Sanhedrin would earn 
the degree of Rabbi, or “My Master;” and 
perhaps another year would entitle him to 
be ‘called’ Rabbonipi chon \uyou piel 
Master.” 

There is reason to believe that by this time 
he was admitted into full membership in the 
Sanhedrin. His honors were now crowding 
thick upon him, but not beyond his merit. 
There was no more enthusiastic Jew in all: 
Jewry than he, and probably none of his age 
with a more promising outlook. 

But he was not content. His eager soul 
was burning against the Galilean heresy. The 
air was filled with rumors of the new propa- 
ganda. The people everywhere were telling 
of miracles of healing wrought by Peter and 
his companions in the hated name of Jesus. 

24 


SAUL OF. TARSUS 25 


At length Saul had the satisfaction of seeing 
them summoned again before the Sanhedrin 
for trial; and he was now ina position to make 
his influence felt against them. But just at 
the moment when their conviction seemed cer- 
tain, up rose his beloved teacher Gamaliel to 
say, ‘Refrain from these men; lest haply ye 
be found fighting against God!” 

All the more fiercely burned the fire in 
the young zealot’s bosom. It rejoiced him to 
know that the Christians were being perse- 
cuted with increasing vigor. Presently when 
the deacon Stephen was summoned before the 
Court, he was foremost among those who, 
gnashing on him with their teeth, “ran upon 
him with one accord;” and he held the clothes 
of the frenzied rabble that stoned him to 
death. Never, never would he forget the 
bleeding, upturned face that, amid a shower 
of stones, shone like an angel’s face! Never 
would he cease to hear the voice that cried, 
“T see the heavens opened and the Son of 
Man standing on the right hand of God”— 
standing, as if to welcome him! 

But the haunting vision served only to goad 
him on to greater zeal. His conscience was 


26 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


now aflame against the followers of Jesus. On 
learning that many of them, fleeing, had 
found refuge in Damascus a hundred and fif- 
ty miles away, he begged for a commission to 
go thither and hunt them down; and the San- 
hedrin were rejoiced to grant it. 

He sets out on the road to Damascus with 
a bodyguard of horsemen. He carries with 
him credentials as Chief Inquisitor and a 
search-warrant. He speeds like a ravening 
beast to its quarry, “breathing out threaten- 
ings and slaughter against the disciples” and 
all of that Way.* 

God of the innocents, wilt thou not inter- 
pose? 





*He counted their lives no better than the lives of wild 
dogs. He had no respect for age, condition or sex. He thrust 
his bloody hands into the very secrecy and sanctity of the 
Christians’ homes, and dragged out both men and women 
to have them cast into prison, or with little show of justice 
to be scourged or stoned to death—Taylor’s Life of Paul. 


V—RIGHT ABOUT FACE 


We left Saul of Tarsus on the warpath. 

It is high noon: but never was a noon like 
this. Suddenly a light above the brightness 
of the sun—a Voice piercing to the quick of 
a mailed conscience—a pair of blind eyes 
groping helplessly for a clue to the labyrinth 
of thirty misdirected years—then, rise up, 
Paul the Apostle, a new man in Christ Jesus! 

See him—the man who rode but an hour 
ago with the pride of a Lucifer to conquest— 
stumbling into Damascus, “led by the hand,” 
fovdecitne thats) hise)esus! is the Christe! 

A miracle has happened. ‘We thought of 
this man going into Damascus like a storm,” 
says Dr. Parker, “and he went in like a blind 
beggar! We thought he would have been met 
at the city gate as the great destroyer of heresy, 
and he was led by the hand a helpless cripple! 
Presently he will increase in strength, the 
right strength, the power that has deep roots; 
not the power of transient fury, but the solid 
and tranquil strength of complete repose. The 

27 


28 LIFE AND LETTERS OF SD. PAUL 


mightiest chief under Christ that ever led the 
Christian hosts was thus conducted by friend- 
ly and compassionate men into the city which 
he intended to devastate.” 

On entering the city with his message he 
finds his old friends turned against him; and 
is obliged to flee for his life.* 





* The most direct road to Jerusalem must have been the 
one by which Saul went to Damascus. Picking his way, then, 
from the place where he was let down to the ground, across 
the gardens and orchards and fields, perhaps leaping or wad- 
ing some of those irrigating canals that ran all about the 
city, he would be likely, as soon as it was safe, to strike the 
highway. Before dawn he was climbing the slopes of Anti- 
Lebanon; and when the sun rose over Damascus no doubt he 
turned to take a farewell look at the city, decked in its robes 
of shining green, yhich had been to him the scene of th; 
beginning of a new life—Taylor’s Life of Paul. 


VI—FORGOTTEN 


In the deserts of Arabia for three years the 
man keeps solitary tryst with his new Master. 
Was ever a. Theological Seminary so well 
adapted to the business in hand? So se- 
cluded, so orthodox, so near to God! 

He then returns to Damascus to declare 
with renewed earnestness his conviction that 
“This Jesus is the Christ.” 

But the Jews naturally will have none of it. 
Persecution follows: he makes his escape in 
a basket let down from the wall and betakes 
himself along the mountain road to Jerusalem. 

Whom will he visit there? Peter the fisher- 
man, of all men! He spends fifteen days with 
him. Par nobile fratres! Behold the democ- 
racy of Christian fellowship! 

Not yet, however, has the hour struck for 
Paul’s ministry to begin. It remains for him 
to experience “the rarity of Christian char- 
ity.” Frozen out by the Christians at Jerusa- 
lem, who should have welcomed him with 
open arms, whither shall he gop 

29 


VII—HOME AGAIN 


He turns his steps to Tarsus, the old home 
town, where he spends three more years of 
waiting—waiting all the while for a more 
definite answer to his question, “Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to doP” 

Of these years in Tarsus we have no record. 
Were any of his kinsfolk still living there? 
If so, he probably received no welcome at 
their hands: and it is morally certain that 
his former friends gave him the cold shoul- 
der. But no word of complaint escapes 
him. He is neither lonely nor discouraged, 
since Christ is with him. He can afford to 
await the specific orders of his new Master 
as to what he will have him to do. 

It must, however, have been a sore trial to 
the faith of a man who had sacrificed so much 
for his convictions—who had dreamed dreams 
of usefulness and seen visions of great things 
to be accomplished for Christ—to be ma- 
rooned in an unfriendly town so long. But 
‘they also serve who only stand and wait.” 

30 


VIII—LIFE BEGINS 


The answer comes at length in an unex- 
pected way. Off in Antioch the Lord 1s bless- 
ing his people. Souls are being converted as 
doves flying to their windows. Barnabas is 
there with other evangelists; but help is 
needed. “Where is Saul, my old classmate?” 
asks Barnabas. “‘He would be the very man 
for us. I will go over to Tarsus and see.” 
He finds him there; he brings him to Antioch; 
and the work speeds on. 

Presently the Voice of the Spirit is heard, 
“Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work 
WMiereuntomluenaviencalleds them. ol heyeare 
set apart accordingly; and behold the mis- 
sionary propaganda of the centuries under 
way! 

Saul of Tarsus vanishes from this time on, 
and Paul the Apostle forges to the front. 
He is now forty years of age. He has waited 
a long while for a definite call to service; but 
every hour of his preparation had _ been 
marked out in the divine plan. He is ready 

31 


2 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


at last. And as in subsequent years he pur- 
sues his journeys by land and sea, amid perils 
oft and triumphs equally so, he will be re- 
viewing the past with a grateful recognition 
of the wisdom and lovingkindness of the 
Lord who promised that in the fulness of time 
it would be shown him “‘what things he must 
do.” 

So runs the promise: “They that wait upon 
the Lord shall renew their strength; they 
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they 
shall run and not be weary; they shall walk 
and not faint.” 

The years of preparation are over: the 
strenuous life begins. Henceforth the soul of 
this man will at times mount up as on eagle’s 
wings in flights of heavenly vision: more fre- 
quently will he be called upon to run on eager, 
gladsome feet to do his Master’s errands; but 
his never-ending task will be to walk without 
fainting. 

It is easy to fly, buoyed up with hope, kin- 
dling one’s eyes at the full mid-day beam (2 
Cor. 12:1-14). It is easy to run in an Olym- 
pic race, compassed about with a great cloud 
of applauding witnesses and stimulated by the 


SAUL OF TARSUS a9 


“high calling” of the King at the golden mile- 
stone (Heb. 12: 1, 2). But to walk along an 
uphill road, staff in hand, alone save for one 
invisible Presence, in perils oft, in weariness 
and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, in cold 
and nakedness, in labors abundant (2 Cor. 
11:23-27)—to plod right on, patiently, trust- 
ingly, hopefully—to walk and not faint—this 
is what tries the soul of a man. 

Will Paul be able? Let him speak for 
himself. Again and again in the coming years 
we shall hear him paying tribute to the faith- 
fulness of his unseen Friend. Not infrequent- 
ly he will be overwhelmed ‘with a sense of 
personal weakness, but the Lord will stand by 
him; insomuch that he will be able to say, 
“When I am weak, then am I strong. Most 
gladly will I glory in mine infirmities, that 
the power of Christ may rest upon me.” In 
the dangers of his A°gean voyage he says the 
Lord stood by him. In the Pretorian camp, 
in the judgment hall at Cesarea, in the Mam- 
mertine jail, the Lord stood by him. “In 
perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils 
by his own countrymen, in perils by the 
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the 


34 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


wilderness, in perils among false brethren,” 
the Lord stood by him. He was “troubled on 
every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but 
not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; 
cast down, but not destroyed,’ because the 
Lord stood by him. And when at last he was 
summoned to Rome to answer for his life, he 
says, ““No man stood with me, but all forsook 
me’’; yet there the Lord stood by him. 

Of our own selves we can do nothing; but 
when buttressed by Omnipotence the weak- 
est of mortal men may boast with humble 
Paul, “I can do all things through Christ that 
strengtheneth me!” 


Part II 
PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 


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INTRODUCTION 


The following pages are written in the 
hope of bringing order out of the confusion 
which prevails in the minds of many Bible 
students as to the Journeys of Paul. 

In a frontier town in the West, sixty odd 
years ago, a Sunday School class of boys was 
required to commit to memory the “Acts of 
the Apostles.” Their teacher was John 
Bally, a carpenter by trade, who found it 
easy enough to interest his pupils until they 
reached the Journeys of Paul, where, in the 
labyrinth of crossings by land and tackings 
by sea, they were, like Milton’s fallen angels, 
“in wandering mazes lost.” — 

There is something to be said for this old- 
fashioned way of lodging the Scriptures in 
the youthful mind,—seven verses a Sunday 
for a blue ticket, seven blues for a red, seven 
reds for a yellow and seven yellows for a 


Testament with the Superintendent’s name 
37 


38 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


on the fly leaf. The pride of that day! Of 
course we wondered what was the use of 
memorizing such a verse, for example, as 
this: ‘‘There arose a tempestuous wind 
called Kuroclydon; and when the ship was 
caught and could not bear up into the wind 
we let her drive’’: but many a time in the 
passing of the years that same remembered 
verse has helped me. What better can one 
do indeed, when tossed about by contrary 
winds, than to cast out the tackling, under- 
gird the ship with prayers and promises and 
‘let her drive’’? 

The writer, who was one of John Bally’s 
boys, ventures the hope that the following 
pages may inspire a deeper confidence in the 
profitableness of all Scripture ‘‘for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction 
in righteousness. ’’ 


FOREWORD 


Acts 1:1-9 


The opening words of the Acts of the 
Apostles are singularly significant: ‘‘The 
former treatise (i.e. The Gospel according 
to Luke) I made, O Theophilus, concerning 
all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.”’ 
By this we are given to understand that our 
Lord’s earthly ministry of thirty years was 
only the beginning of a campaign of doing 
and teaching which must continue until 
every knee shall bow before him. 

What then did the dying Saviour mean 
when he eried, ‘‘It is finished!”’ 

Not that all sinners were saved. The 
paying of the ransom on Golgotha made all 
alike salvable; but they had yet to be in- 
formed of the Good News and ‘‘constrained 
to come in.’’ 

Not that the Kingdom of Heaven was 
established on earth. The foundation was 
now laid and cemented with blood: but the 

39 


40 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


superstructure had yet to be reared upon it. 

Not that Christ had so fully completed his 
work that nothing remained for his disciples 
to do. On the contrary, a long campaign 
was before them, ‘‘as laborers together’’ 
with him. 

This was the particular reason why Jesus 
returned after his resurrection and remained 
with them forty days. He wished to mark 
out the Plan of the Campaign which they 
and their successors were to pursue for the 
evangelization of the world. 

The keynote was struck in the word ‘‘Go’’ 
which rings through the record of the forty 
days. 

But the disciples were loath to go. They 
remained in and about Jerusalem for at least 
five years, until persecution drove them out. 
At the stoning of Stephen ‘‘they that were 
scattered abroad went everywhere preach- 
ing the word.’’ Had they taken Christ at 
his word in the first instance that tragedy 
might have been unnecessary. ‘The Master 
is a great Teacher; in one way or another 
he insists on having his way with those who 
follow him. 


Paul’s Campaigns 


I 


SAUL OF TARSUS 


Acts 9: 1-22 


A year or two after the death of Stephen 
a young man named Saul, of Tarsus, was 
converted to Christ. He had been a witness 
of the tragedy referred to, had ‘‘held the 
clothes’’ of the sanctimonious platoon, had 
seen the martyr’s face shining ‘‘as it had 
been the face of an angel,’’ and had heard 
his cry, ‘‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”’ 
He was unable to escape the logic of that 
scene. ‘I'he face that shone amid the shower 
of stones must have haunted his dreams, un- 
til the day came when, on his way down to 
Damascus ‘‘breathing out slaughter against 
the disciples,’’ he saw again the hght that 
had glorified the face of Stephen and heard 
a Voice that filled his soul with trembling, 
‘‘T am Jesus, whom thou _ persecutest!’’ 

41 


AO ULSTER GAN D)IGE In eR or @ ht silica Gale 


Blinded for a season, he saw things hidden 
from fleshly eyes; and turning right-about- 
face he cried, ‘‘Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do?’’ The answer in brief was, 
66 Go Wg 

Three days later, in the house of one Judas, 
of Damascus, his commission was more 
clearly outlined as ‘‘a chosen vessel to de- 
clare the name of Christ to Gentiles and 
kings and the children of Israel.’’ He then 
received his sight, was baptized and straight- 
way began to preach Christ. 


qt 
THE SUMMONS 


AcTs 11: 19-26 


[Here occurs an Interval of Seven Years.]| 


It chanced that among those who had been 
scattered abroad at the stoning of Stephen, 
some had gone with the gospel as far as 
Antioch in Syria, where a revival occurred 
in which ‘‘a great number believed and 
turned unto the Lord.’’ The Church at 
Jerusalem was appealed to for help, and it 
sent Barnabas, who was destined to figure 
largely in the enterprises of the early 
Church. 


BARNABAS 


Our information about this man is as fol- 
lows: First, he was called ‘‘the son of Con- 
solation,’’ which intimates that his heart was 
full of kindliness. Second, he was ‘‘a good 


man’’; a most comprehensive phrase. 
43 


44 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Third, he was ‘‘full of the Holy Ghost,’’ that 
is, surcharged.with spiritual light and power. 
Fourth, he was ‘‘full of faith,’’ the faith that 
makes things-hoped-for substantial and 
establishes things-not-seen upon evidence 
that cannot be gainsaid. Great qualifica- 
tions, these, for a missionary intent upon the 
winning of souls. 


SAUL OF TARSUS SENT FOR 


The work at Antioch grew to such dimen- 
sions that Barnabas was moved to cast about 
for some evangelist to help him. His 
thoughts immediately turned to Saul of 
Tarsus. Where was he? After his conver- 
sion, feeling the need of further thought and 
training, he had betaken himself to the Ara- 
bian desert. What a theological course that 
was! After finishing his three years’ cur- 
riculum among the solitudes, he returned to 
Tarsus to await further orders. 

This was where Barnabas found him. 
‘‘And he brought him unto Antioch.”’ 
There great things awaited him, as we shall 
see. 


Til 


THE RENDEZVOUS 


Acts 13: 1-3 


The center of operations, which had hith- 
erto been in Jerusalem, was now to be 
shifted to Antioch in Syria. At the begin- 
ning of our narrative the work in this great 
Gentile center had continued for a whole 
year under the direction of Barnabas and 
Pale 

Observe that Saul at this time assumed 
his Roman name, which was the proper thing 
for him to do in a Gentile city. 

Observe, also, that the names of Barnabas 
and Paul will occur hereafter in the reverse 


1A side-light is thrown upon the fraternal relations of the 
Jewish and Gentile Christians by the events recorded in Acts 
11: 27-30 and 12. It appears that Paul and Barnabas left 
Antioch, while the revival was in progress, to carry to Jeru- 
salem a contribution for the relief of the famine-sufferers 
there. The state of affairs in Jerusalem at the time is set 
forth vividly in this parenthesis, which, though important as 
a link in the history of the early Church, is here omitted be- 
cause it has no immediate bearing on the story of the mission- 
ary journeys. 45 


46 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


order; because as the campaign progresses 
the latter forges to the front. 

And observe that the preaching of these 
missionaries is so Christocentric that the 
converts are ‘‘first called Christians in Anti- 
och’’; a title originally given in derision but 
clothed with honor the world over to this day. 


PREPARATIONS 


In one of the early meetings of that mem- 
orable year at Antioch an incident oc- 
curred which gave a directing and controll- 
ing influence to subsequent events. The 
Voice of the Holy Spirit was heard saying, 
‘‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
work whereunto I have called them.’’ In 
this divine call, re-emphasizing the commis- 
sion of Christ, we find the rationale of an en- 
terprise which was destined to change the 
currents and countercurrents of all history 
and set them flowing, just in the measure of 
Christian faithfulness, toward the Golden 
Age. 

First. These men were ‘‘separated’’ to 
‘‘90.’’ All followers of Christ are required 
to ‘‘go’”’ in like manner, and to keep going 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 47 


as witnesses and evangelists of Christ; but 
all are not separated for work in ‘‘the re- 
gions beyond’’ like these men. Some are 
called to go down to the porches of Bethesda 
or out into the highways and hedges as city 
missionaries; others to go through the fron- 
tier villages of Galilee as home missionaries; _ 
still others to go into the coasts of Tyre and 
Sidon and the regions beyond as foreign 
missionaries. But as Paul and Barnabas, 
when they sallied forth, were sustained by 
the united prayers and substantial support 
of all who remained behind, so are the Chris- 
tians of our time required and expected to 
stand behind the missionaries whom they 
send forth to the lands that lie in pagan 
darkness and the shadow of death. The 
words of William Carey when embarking 
for India, ‘‘As I go down into the mine, I 
depend upon you to hold the rope,’’ put to 
an open shame all those who oppose world- 
wide evangelism. 

Second. Paul and Barnabas were joined 
together for the work. So were the seventy 
sent out two and two; because ‘‘two are bet- 


ter than one, for if one fall the other will 
7 


48 LIFE AND:LEDTVERS OF ST? FAUL 


lift him up.’’ And there was a particular 
fitness in the companionship of these two; 
because the fervor of one would strengthen 
and supplement the gentleness of the other. 
In process of time Paul and Barnabas had 
two quarrels; once over the wisdom of con- 

tinuing the services of John Mark, whose 
courage had failed him at the foot of the 
Macedonian hills (Acts 15:36-40) and 
again over the necessity of admitting con- 
verts to the church through the door of Jew- 
ish ceremonialism (Gal. 2:11-13). But 
both these quarrels were adjusted in a 
friendly spirit. 

Third. 'They were not only ‘‘separated”’ 
and joined together but equipped for their 
work. They had faith, courage and the 
charismata, or special gifts of the Spirit, 
for the working of ‘‘signs and wonders’’ to 
buttress their message. Indeed they had 
everything but money. Of this Barnabas 
had none, because he had previously given 
up all his possessions for the relief of needy 
Christians (Acts 4: 36, 37) ; and as for Paul, 
he had undoubtedly been ostracised and 
stripped of his birthright when he accepted 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 49 


Christ (Phil. 4:16-18). Thus they went 
forth, according to the Master’s injunction, 
‘‘without serip or money in their purse,’’ 
but strong in faith and in the power of the 
Holy Ghost. 


GOING WITHOUT GOLD 


It is greatly to be feared that in our time 
we are laying too exclusive an emphasis on 
the financial factor in missions. ‘The work 
requires money, no doubt; but money is not 
the principal thing. The most wonderful 
results in the history of the propaganda 
have been accomplished by men of consecra- 
tion who, once convinced that they were sent 
of God, waited for no further send-off. For 
the furnishing of the workers and the endow- 
ment of the work all Christians are required 
to give generously of the possessions which, 
as the Lord’s stewards, they hold in trust, 
and subject to His call; but, whether there be 
money in the scrip or not, whosoever is ‘‘sent 
to seek and to save the lost’’ must go. And 
the wealth that builds schools, hospitals and 
churches is vain without an assurance that 
God ean, if need be, wholly dispense with it. 


IV 
THE FIRST JOURNEY 
ACTS 13: 4-12 


The Campaign was now under way. 

On setting out from Antioch in Syria the 
two missionaries, accompanied by John 
Mark as a courier and assistant, turned their 
faces toward the island of Cyprus, probably 
for two reasons; first, because it was the 
birthplace of Barnabas (Acts 4:36) and 
second, because there were Christians there 
to welcome them (Acts 11: 20). 


AT SALAMIS 


A quick run of a hundred miles, between 
sunrise and sunset, would convey them from 
Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch, to Salamis 
on the eastern coast of Cyprus. Of their 
work in this place there is no record except 
this, ‘‘ They preached the word of God in the 


synagogues of the Jews.”’ 
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The fact that there was more than one 
synagogue there gives us to understand that 
the missionaries had access to many Jews; 
but what are we to infer from the absence 
of persecution and the narrator’s silence as 
to conversions? Were their hearers in 
Salamis so hidebound in formal sacerdotal- 
ism as to cavil at the ‘‘good news,’’ or so in- 
different to the claims of their own Messiah 
that they wilfully hid as it were their faces 
from him? In any ease the missionaries 
left the place conscious of having done their 
best and hopefully trusting in the promise, 
‘He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless come again 
with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with 
Napha ner” 


AEA ELOS 


On the other side of the island, a hundred 
miles away, was Paphos, a city of a different 
sort. It was important as the residence of 
Sergius Paulus, the Roman governor, who 
is mentioned as a ‘‘prudent man.’’ He had 
in his retinue a soothsayer whom he was ac- 
customed to consult, particularly in matters 


ape LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST; PAUL 


pertaining to religion. But the mind of 
Sergius was nevertheless open to conviction ; 
so that on hearing of the arrival of the mis- 
sionaries he invited them to come and unfold 
‘the word of God.’’? At this point, how- 
ever, the soothsayer interposed and would 
have made the gospel of none effect but for 
the vigorous onset of Paul: ‘‘O full of all 
subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the 
devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt 
thou not cease to pervert the right ways of 
the Lord! And now, behold, the hand of 
the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be 
blind, not seeing the sun for a season.’’ 
Whereupon there fell on him a mist and a 
darkness; so that he must needs have some 
to lead him. 

Here vanishes Elymas the soothsayer. 
Let us hope that his temporary blindness, 
hike that which had previously befallen Paul 
himself, enabled him to see spiritual things 
in the right way. 

As for the governor, he was:convinced of 
the truth of the Gospel and ‘‘believed’’; that 
is, he accepted Christ with a saving faith. 

The itinerants had no intention of tarry- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS a3 


ing long in Paphos or, for that matter, any- 
where else. They had delivered their mes- 
sage and could well afford to leave the re- 
sults with God. 

The ship was ready to sail; a south wind 
was blowing. Farewell to Cyprus, and to 
Sergius Paulus rejoicing in newness of life! 
On to the regions beyond, where other souls 
were awaiting the good news! 


Vv 


AT ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA 


Acts 13: 13-52 


The port of entry in Pamphylia, where 
the missionaries landed, was the ancient and 
honorable city of Perga. It was now mid- 
summer, when most of the people were in the 
cool shelter of the mountains; wherefore, 
without tarrying, they resolved to push on. 

At this juncture John Mark, the nephew 
of Barnabas, who had accompanied them as 
courier, announced that he would go no fur- 
ther. Perhaps the perils of the mountains 
frightened him; or possibly he was home- 
sick, longing for his widowed mother in 
Jerusalem. Whatever the reason, he ‘‘de- 
parted and went not with them to the work.’’ 
This was doubtless a great disappointment 
to his uncle Barnabas, but even more so to 
Paul who, as we have seen, was slow to for- 
getit. (Acts 15: 37-40.) 

54 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 55 


The next objective point of the itinerary 
was Antioch in Pisidia, which lay about a 
hundred miles inland among the hills. It 
would be at least a three days’ journey for 
these footmen, through an uninhabited coun- 
try. We may imagine Paul and Barnabas 
holding converse along the way, staff in 
hand, weary but resolute, kneeling together 
at nightfall and sleeping under the stars. 

The Sabbath after their arrival found 
them in the synagogue. Their presence was 
observed; and after the reading of the Scrip- 
ture lesson the usual invitation was given, 
‘*Brethren, if ye have any word of exhorta- 
tion for the people, say on.’’ Paul, on such 
occasions, always did have something to say. 
The message that trembled on his lips when- 
ever he stood in the presence of his fellow- 
Jews was, ‘‘This Jesus is the Christ.’’ So 
here; the burden of his first recorded ser- 
mon is the Messiahship of Jesus, whom they 
had crucified, despite what was written, 
‘‘ Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and per- 
ish: for I work a work in your days which 
ye shall not believe though a man declare 
it unto you.”’ 


56 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


The sermon made so deep an impression 
that Paul was urged to preach again on the 
next Sabbath; but during the week the rab- 
bis had fomented such opposition that, when 
the congregation reassembled, there was a 
concerted uproar against him. 

Then occurred one of the most significant 
and far-reaching incidents of the campaign. 
‘The missionaries turned upon their turbu- 
lent Jewish assailants with these words: 
‘‘It was necessary that the word of God 
should first have been spoken to you; but see- 
ing ye put it from you and judge yourselves 
unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the 
Gentiles!’ | 

Thus was the key turned to open the gos- 
pel door to all people. Thenceforth the 
walls of separation were broken down. The 
Gentiles were glad to listen, and many of 
them were converted to Christ: but as for 
the missionaries, the Jews being filled with 
rage ‘‘expelled them out of their coasts.”’ 

On leaving Antioch they ‘‘shook off the 
dust of their feet,’’ to signify that, having 
done their utmost, they were free from re- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 57 


sponsibility for the welfare of those who 
persistently refused the good news. 

But their work had not been as ‘‘water 
poured upon the ground, which cannot be 
gathered up again’’; for they left behind 
them not a few disciples ‘‘filled with joy and 
with the Holy Ghost.’’ So did these har- 
vesters pass on to the regions beyond, re- 
joicing that their labor was not in vain in 
the Lord. 


VI 


IN THE MOUNTAINS OF LYCAONIA 


Acts 14: 1-20 


On being driven out of Antioch in Pisidia 
the missionaries crossed the border and pur- 
sued their way along the great highway lead- 
ing from Ephesus to the valley of the Eu- 
phrates. This was one of the roads which 
Cesar had constructed in pursuance of his 
purpose of universal conquest. Little did he 
dream that it was destined to be used subse- 
quently for the propaganda of the Prince of 
Peace: 

AT ICONIUM 


On this great highway, about sixty miles 
east of Antioch, lay the important city of 
Teconium. For three days at least the mis- 
sionaries trudged on afoot through a deso- 
late country, leaving no word on record as to 
the indubitable dangers that befell them 
along the way. 

On reaching the city they at once, accord- 

58 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS hese: 


ing to their custom, betook themselves to the 
synagogue, where ‘‘they so spake that a great 
multitude,’’ not only of the Jews but of the 
Hellenists—that is, Gentiles who had es- 
poused the worship of Jehovah—were con- 
verted. In the words ‘‘they so spake’’ we 
have an intimation that Paul preached his 
customary sermon, ‘‘opening and alleging 
that Jesus is the Christ.”’ 

Of course there was trouble; and as a mat- 
ter of course the unbelieving Jews began 
and fostered it. Nevertheless the mission- 
aries kept up their work for ‘‘a long time,”’ 
probably for some months; and they might 
have continued it indefinitely but for an as- 
sault led by the rabbis of the synagogue, 
with certain Gentiles whose minds were 
‘‘evil affected against them.’’ Whereupon 
the two yokefellows, mindful of the Master’s 
words, ‘‘When they persecute you in one 
city flee unto another,’’ left Iconium and 
plodded on. 


AT LYSTRA 


A journey of about forty miles to the 
southeast, on the same highway, brought 


60 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


them to Lystra, an out-of-the-way place with 
few attractions for visitors. But there were 
souls there needing to be brought out of 
darkness into light. 

The town had no synagogue. Just out- 
side the gate was a Temple for the worship 
of Jupiter: and thereby hangs a tale. It 
was believed that Jupiter with his messenger 
Mercury had once visited Lystra. ‘The story 
is told by Ovid on this wise: 


‘‘Here Jove with Hermes came; but in disguise 
Of mortal men concealed their deities. 
One laid aside his thunder, one his rod, 
And many toilsome steps together trod. 
For harbor at a thousand doors they knocked ; 
Not one of all the thousand but was locked. 
At last a hospitable house they found, 
A homely shed; the roof not far from ground 
Was thatched with reeds and straw together bound. 
There Baucis and Philemon lived. 
From lofty roofs the gods repulsed before, 
Now stooping, entered through the little door. 
The man (their hearty welcome first express’d) 
A common settle drew for either guest.”’ 


The neighbors who had refused to enter- 
tain their divine visitors were subsequently 
punished by a terrible flood; but Philemon 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 61 


and Baucis were rewarded by seeing their 
hut miraculously changed into a splendid 
temple, in which they were appointed to 
minister to the gods. 


*‘Their little shed, scarce large enough for two, 

Seems from the ground increased, in height and bulk 
to grow. 

A stately temple shoots within the skies: 

The crotchets of their cot in columns rise: 

The pavement polished marble they behold; 

The gates with sculpture graced, the spires and tiles 
Ormerod 


The preaching of the missionaries at Lys- 
tra was in the market-places and open courts 
of the houses. One of the far-reaching con- 
quests here was the conversion of a Jewess 
named Eunice, with her mother Lois and her 
son Timothy, a youth who was destined to 
play an important part as one of Paul’s 
most efficient helpers in after years. 

The miraculous healing of a cripple—who 
had doubtless been brought into the congre- 

gation to solicit alms—led the people to con- 
elude that the gods were making them an- 
other visit. Barnabas, the taller and more 
imposing man, was taken for Jupiter: and 


62 LIFE AND LET EERS COR ST sPAUL 


Paul, eloquent but of ‘‘mean presence,’’ was 
Mercury, his messenger. 

A rush was made for the Temple outside 
the gate; oxen were brought for sacri- 
fices and garlands to crown the celestial vis- 
itors. Meanwhile the preaching in the open 
court went on; until the pagan priest, ar- 
rayed for sacrificial rites, appeared in the 
doorway. Then, in sudden consternation, 
the missionaries dispelled the illusion, cry- 
ing, ‘‘Sirs, why do ye these things? Wealso — 
are men of like passions with you, and 
preach that ye should turn from these vani- 
ties unto the living God!’’ No saint-wor- 
ship forthem! (Rev. 22: 8, 9.) 

It is but a short way from garlands to 
cobble-stones. No doubt some of those who 
had followed Christ on Palm Sunday cry- 
ing, ‘‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’’ were 
in the mob that on the next Friday shouted, 
‘‘Crucify him!’’ So here; there was a 
speedy reaction, due to the influence of cer- 
tain ones who had pursued the missionaries 
from Antioch and Iconium to oppose them. 
Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city and 
left for dead. A few faithful friends— 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 63 


Barnabas with Lois and Eunice and young 
Timothy—ministered to him. 

But Paul was not dead. A man is im- 
mortal till his work is done. The Lord had 
further need of him. So he arose; and the 
next morning, sadly bruised but undaunted 
in spirit, he with faithful Barnabas trudged 
on. 


AT DERBE 


The city of Derbe lay on the same road 
twenty miles further on. Their ministry 
here was undisturbed. Probably their en- 
emies, ‘‘supposing that Paul was dead,”’ con- 
eratulated themselves that the campaign of 
these troublers, who were ‘‘turning the 
world upside down,’’ had come to an end. 
But the work continued and in Derbe 
‘‘many were taught.’’ Among them was a 
certain Gaius, who would presently join the 
itinerant group as a faithful servant of 
Christ. (Acts 20: 4.) 


Vil 
THE RETURN 


Acts 14: 21-28 


If the mind of Paul had not been so wholly 
concentrated on the business in hand he 
would surely have turned aside on leaving 
Derbe to visit his old home at Tarsus, which 
was only a few miles away. But the love of 
Christ constrained both him and Barnabas; 
and they were much concerned for the con- 
verts whom they had left behind them. 
Who could tell what persecutions had be- 
fallen them, or how many had been allured 
from the faith? 

For this reason they resolved to retrace 
their steps. Danger lay that way, but duty 
also. Wherefore, like their Master, they 
‘‘set their faces steadfastly to go.’’ One 
city after another they revisited—Lystra, 
Ieconium, Antioch—fearless amid the scenes 
of former persecution, intent upon encour- 

64 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 65 


aging their converts and building the super- 
structure of their character and usefulness 
on the foundations of their faith. 

In the account of the backward journey 
of these missionaries we have a clear outline 
of their logical method of procedure. 

First, Evangelization. This comes fore- 
most always in ministerial work: the pres- 
entation of the gospel as the power of God 
unto salvation. ‘To omit this is to run with- 
out a message and to forfeit the penny at 
evening, ‘‘ Well done, good servant!’’ Alas 
for a minister who does not realize his high 
privilege and responsibility as a winner of 
souls! 

Second, Edification, or ‘‘building up’’ in 
the most holy faith. In the words ‘‘con- 
firming the souls of the disciples”’ there is 
of course no reference. to any formal cere- 
mony of ‘‘confirmation,’’ but to the strength- 
ening of their belief in Christ and loyalty to 
him. This is further emphasized by the ex- 
hortation ‘‘to continue in the faith; and that 
we must through much tribulation (literally, 
harrowing) enter into the kingdom of God.” 

It is a mistake to suppose that our full 


66 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


salvation is accomplished when we accept 
Christ. That does, indeed, deliver us from 
the penalty of sin; but it is only the begin- 
ning of that larger ‘‘salvation which is ready 
to be revealed in the last time.’’ This is the 
salvation which we are to ‘‘work out with 
fear and trembling,’’ to work out into its full 
fruition of character and usefulness. -And 
it is the business of every minister to see 
that Christians are thus confirmed in their 
most holy faith. ) 

Third, Organization. As they revisited 
the scene of their former labors the mission- 
aries ‘‘ordained elders in every church.”’ 
These elders or ‘‘presbyters,’’ who are else- 
where called ‘‘bishops,’’ were chosen by the 
people, as indicated by the word ‘‘ordained,”’ 
which literally means ‘‘elected by a show of 
hands.’’ Thus the converts were organized 
into churches—not only for self-government 
but for co-operation in service—and ‘‘com- 
mended to the Lord.”’ 


AT PERGA 


This done, Paul and Barnabas pushed on 
to Perga, the seaport where they had done 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 67 


nothing on their previous visit. As the 
summer was now over and the people had re- 
turned to their homes, the missionaries tar- 
ried and ‘‘preached the word.”’ 

Then—probably because there was no ves- 
sel in port—they went on to the neighboring 
town of Attalia, where they took ship; and 
so back to Antioch in Syria. 


AT ANTIOCH IN SYRIA 

The Church assembled to hear their report 
of ‘‘all that God had done with them’’ dur- 
ing the two or three years of their absence; 
and there was great rejoicing as Paul and 
Barnabas rehearsed how God had ‘‘opened 
the door of faith unto the Gentiles.’’ 

So ended the first of the great Missionary 
Journeys. ‘‘A long time’’ elapsed before 
another was undertaken; but a zealous spirit 
like Paul’s cannot be confined in any ‘‘pent- 
up Utica.’’ Weshall presently see him ven- 
turing forth upon an enterprise still more 
boldly planned to carry the gospel to the ut- 
termost parts of the earth. 


A PARENTHESIS 


Acts 15: 1-35 


[Not long after the return of Paul and 
Barnabas from their first missionary tour a 
serious trouble developed in the church at 
Antioch. It was fomented by certain con- 
verts who, like Paul himself, had previously 
belonged to ‘‘the most straitest sect’’ of 
Jewry, but, unlike him, had not fully entered 
into ‘‘the glorious liberty of the children of 
God.”’ 

The contention was that Gentile converts 
should enter the Christian Church by the 
Jewish door; that is, they must submit them- 
selves to the ceremonial law. Now the cere- 
monial law, which was typical and prophet- 
ical of Christ, had been fulfilled at his com- 
ing, and therefore had passed away, as mists 
vanish at the rising of the sun. So it is 


written, ‘‘ He blotted out the handwriting of 
68 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 69. 


ordinances that was against us, and took it 
out of the way, nailing it to his cross.’’ 
(Col. 2:14.) The Gentile Christians main- 
tained that salvation was conditioned sim- 
ply and solely on personal faith in Christ; 
but these high-churchmen insisted that un- 
less they would comply with the Jewish re- 
quirements ‘‘they could not be saved.”’ 

The two positions were irreconcilable. 
The breach widened accordingly, and the 
trouble spread rapidly among the churches. 
Something must be done and done quickly. 
A deputation, including Paul and Barnabas, 
was chosen to go up to the mother church at 
Jerusalem and confer with the apostles and 
elders about it. 


THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 


The distance from Antioch to Jerusalem 
was about three hundred miles: more than 
five times what it would be by the travelling 
facilities of our time. On their journey the 
delegates conferred with churches along the 
way and were doubtless joined by other com- 
missioners. When they reached Jerusalem 
an informal conference was first held with 


70 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


the apostles and elders, after which the 
Council was convened, with James, the pas- 
tor of the mother church, in the chair. 

This was the first, and in many respects 
the most significant, of a series of Gicumen- 
ical Councils held at intervals, as occasion 
seemed to require, down to the time of the 
Reformation. The next of importance was 
the Council of Nicea, a. D. 325, in which the 
question of the Trinity was discussed—for 
the most part by men who had suffered for 
the truth’s sake in recent persecutions—and 
was determined for all time. Its monument 
is the Nicene Creed. But the question be- 
fore this Council at Jerusalem was one of 
most immediate importance, because, until 
it was settled, the Gentiles were kept wait- 
ing at the doorway of the Church. 

The first address was made by Peter. 
We have of course the merest outline; but 
sufficient is given to indicate its bold and im- 
passioned character. He began by remind- 
ing the Council how the Lord had chosen 
him ‘‘a good while ago’’ to open the door to 
the Gentiles. The reference was to the day 
of Pentecost, fourteen years before, when he 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 71 


had turned the key—the key: which Christ 
had previously committed to him for that 
purpose (Matt. 16:19)—-saying, ‘‘The 
promise is unto you and to your children 
and to all that are afar off.’’ (Acts 2: 14— 
39.) He then begged the Council not to put 
a ceremonial yoke upon the necks of the 
converts which neither their fathers nor 
themselves had been able to bear; and con- 
cluded with a ringing statement that the 
only condition of salvation for all alike is 
vital faith in Christ. 

Paul and Barnabas followed with an ac- 
count of their missionary journey and the 
many conversions which had occurred along 
the way. This carried its own appeal with 
it. 

Then arose James, the minister of the 
mother church. He would naturally be dis- 
posed to favor the Jews, but his address was 
in the interest of peace by mutual conces- 
sion. He began by supporting Peter’s 
position as to the open door, and showed 
how the prophets had foretold it. He then, 
as the Moderator of the Council, pronounced 
his ‘‘sentence’’ or conclusion. This was 


12 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


drawn up in the form of a letter to be sent to 
all the churches, as follows: 


The apostles and elders and brethren send 
greeting unto the brethren which are of the 
Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. 
Forasmuch as we have heard that certain 
which went out from us have troubled you 
with words, subverting your souls, saying, 
Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law; 
to whom we gave no such commandment: wt 
seemed good unto us, being assembled with 
one accord, to send chosen men unto you with 
our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that 
have hazarded their lives for the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore 
Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the 
same things by mouth. For it seemed good 
to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you 
no greater burden than these necessary 
things; that ye abstain from meats offered 
to zdols, and from blood, and from things 
strangled: and from fornication: from 

which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. 
Fare ye well. 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 73 


In this letter we observe, first, a principle 
laid down: to wit, the great doctrine of Justi- 
fication by Faith; and second, a policy 
marked out, namely, that, so far as conces- 
sions could be made without any sacrifice of 
principle, they should be made by both sides. 
On the one hand, the Jews were to give up 
their insistence on the ceremonial law; on 
the other, the Gentiles were to refrain from 
certain practices which gave offence: (1) 
from blood—which the Jews avoid to this 
day; (2) from things strangled—because the 
blood remains in them; (3) from meats laid 
on pagan altars and subsequently offered for 
sale in the shambles—because this seemed 
to imply complicity with idol-worship; and 
(4) from the sensual habits which were 
prevalent among all pagan nations and to 
which the Gentile converts were especially 
prone. These mutual concessions were so 
obviously reasonable that the trouble ended 
then and there. 





THE RETURN 


On the return of the missionaries to Anti- 
och a meeting was held at which the letter 


74 LIFE AND‘ LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


was read and all ‘‘rejoiced for the consola- 
tion.’? One thing had been settled, that no 
priest or ecclesiastical court was to be al- — 
lowed to stand in the way of any sinner in 
his approach to Christ. 

Settled? Yes, so far as a Council could 
settle it. But the Cross is always an offence, 
and free grace has never ceased to be a 
stumbling-block to the natural man. 

As time passed the Church drifted away 
from its moorings until, in the Dark Ages, 
it was again swamped in the stagnant waters 
of priestly ceremonialism. Then came Lu- 
ther and the other reformers with a new 
proclamation of the old truth of Justifica- 
tion by Faith. They called it articulum 
ecclesie stantis aut cadentis, that is, ‘‘the 
Doctrine of a Standing or a Falling 
Church.’’ And so it is and must continue 
to be. Moses and Elias go their way, and 
none is left but ‘‘Jesus only.’?’ In Him 
alone we put our trust; ‘‘ Him first, Him last, 
Him midst and all in all.’’| 


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Vil 


THE SECOND JOURNEY 


Acts 15: 36-41; 16: 1-10 


‘It would appear that Paul and Barnabas, 
on returning from their first missionary 
tour, spent about two years in Antioch, not 
only in much-needed rest but in ‘‘teaching 
and preaching’’ for the confirmation of their 
brethren in the faith. It was during this 
period that the First Council was held at 
Jerusalem, as we have seen. 

Another incident which subsequently oc- 
curred during the same period ealls for brief 
mention: Peter came to Antioch and 
stirred up trouble. The controversy which 
attended his visit is briefly recorded in Gal. 
2: 11-14: 


““But when Peter was come to Antioch I 
withstood him to the face, because he was to 


be blamed. For before that certain came 
75 


76 CIBPICANDSEET VERSO Les iee ay 


from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: 
but when they were come, he withdrew and. 
separated himself, fearing them which were 
of the circumcision. And the other Jews 
dissembled likewise with him; insomuch 
that Barnabas also was carried away with 
their dissimulation. But when I saw that 
they walked not uprightly according to the 
truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before 
them all, “If thou, being a Jew, livest after 
the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the 
Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to 
live as do the Jews?’’ 

The dispute was amicably settled, how- 
ever, in accordance with the decree of the 
Council in Jerusalem. (See Acts 15: 22-29.) 


In the meantime the wanderlust of the 
gospel had returned to the missionaries and 
the word of the Master, ‘‘Go ye!’’ was ring- 
ing in their ears. It was only a few days 
after the adjustment of the dispute referred 
to that Paul said to Barnabas, ‘‘Let us go 
again and visit our brethren in every city 
where we have preached the word of the 
Lord and see how they do.’’ 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 77 


But a serious difference arose between the 
two missionaries then and there. Barna- 
bas was resolved on having his nephew, John 
Mark, accompany them; while Paul was 
equally determined that the youth whose 
courage had failed him in the face of dan- 
ger at Pamphylia should not go. ‘‘And the 
contention was so sharp between them that 
they departed asunder.’’ Barnabas took his 
nephew and sailed for Cyprus, while Paul 
set out in the opposite direction, both intent 
upon a recanvass of their former work. 

The new companion of Paul was Silas, 
who had been one of the deputies appointed 
by the Council to convey its decrees to the 
churches. He is characterized as ‘‘a faith- 
ful brother,’’ and was one of the hopeful 
guild of Singers in the Night. (Acts 
LO 325s) | 

They set out toward the northwest, ‘‘con- 
firming the churches”’ by the way, until they 
reached Derbe, where the previous journey 
had ended. From there they passed on to 
Lystra, where they were joined by Timothy, 
‘the gentle boy of Lystra,’’ who was destined 
to play an important part in subsequent 


78 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


events. Thence to Iconium; after which 
they would have turned aside into ‘‘ Asia,”’ 
a region of pagan darkness on the southwest ; 
‘‘but they were forbidden.’’ To the north- 
west lay Bithynia, another pagan country 
where they longed to preach the gospel, ‘‘but 
the Spirit suffered them not.’’ Strange 
guidance this! For some reason they must 
turn neither to the right nor to the left but 
bear straight on. 


AT TROAS 


So they came to Troas on the verge of the 
Hellespont; and there the reason of their 
strange guidance was made plain. In a 
vision Paul saw a man of Macedonia, with 
outstretched hands, calling, ‘*‘Come over and 
help us!”? It thus appeared that the mis- 
Sionaries were to plume their wings for a 
bolder flight. Europe was before them! 
When once the Hellespont was crossed they 
would be in ‘‘the regions beyond,’’ and a new 
impulse would be given to the enterprise 
of universal conquest. Now then, the world 
for Christ! a? | 


[D.€ 


ON TO EUROPE 


Acts 16:11-40 


It is safe to say that, on the morning after 
his vision, Paul was early at the docks in 
Troas inquiring for the first ship sailing 
across the Hellespont. There were four who 
took passage; Paul, Silas, Timothy and 
Luke, ‘‘the good physician.’?’ We know 
that Luke here joined the company because 
the narrative, of which he was the writer, 
now moves on with the pronoun ‘‘we.”’ 
(Acts 16: 11.) 

It is worthy of note, in passing, that the 
heroes of the two great classics of Rome 
and Greece—the Afneid of Virgil and the 
Odyssey of Homer—had both embarked 
from the port of Troas; but the momentous 
voyages of Atneas and Ulysses were not 
worthy of comparison with the great enter- 
prise which stirred the hearts of these ad- 
venturous men. 





79 


80 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


AT PHILIPPI 


On landing at Neapolis they pushed their 
way up through the mountain roads to the 
important city of Philippi, where Paul 
hoped to meet the Macedonian who had 
beckoned and called him. In their sojourn 
here they won three trophies of grace. 

The first was Lydia, ‘‘a seller Rf purple.” 
Her name indicates that she had come from 
a city in that same province of Pamphylia 
whither the Spirit had forbidden them to 
go. Thus, by indirection, the missionaries 
were likely to reach the object in mind. 
They met this woman, on the first Sabbath 
after their arrival, at a place set apart for 
prayer by the river-side. On hearing the 
gospel her heart was immediately opened to 
receive it. No doubt Paul was surprised to 
find that ‘‘the man’’ of his vision was a 
woman; but she was a woman of wealth and 
influence whose candle was lighted to shine 
afar. The missionaries had thus far been 
satisfied with humble quarters in some lodg- 
ing house; but Lydia now, with Oriental hos- 
pitality, threw open her home—as she had 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 81 


opened her heart—and entertained them 
during their sojourn in the city. 

The second trophy of the campaign in 
Philippi, was a slave-girl, possessed of an 
evil spirit. Her owners had made eapital 
of her malady by passing her off as a 
pythoness, whose incoherent utterances were 
represented to be the divinations of Apollo. 
Day after day as the missionaries proceeded 
to their work the slave girl cried after them, 
‘These men are the servants of the most 
high God, which show unto us the way of 
salvation!” Little wonder that Paul was 
‘‘orieved’’ on her account; and little wonder 
that he healed her! But this miracle was 
the occasion of no end of trouble. The mas- 
ters of the pythoness, seeing that ‘‘the hope 
of their gains was gone,’’ succeeded in col- 
lecting a mob; and presently, after one of 
those scourgings with which Paul was so fa- 
miliar (‘‘five times was I beaten with forty 
stripes save one’’), he and Silas found them- 
selves in jail. | 

The third trophy of their evangelistic 
ardor was their jailer. The two mission- 
aries, cast down but not destroyed, whiled 


80>) LIFE AND EER LERS OF Sit PAUL 


away the dreary hours of the night by sing- 
ing, probably one of the Hillel Psalms with 
the refrain, ‘‘Oh that men would praise the 
Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful 
works to the children of men!’’ Then ona 
sudden the earth began to tremble and the 
prisoners’ chains were loosed! 

The jailer awoke, and supposing that his 
wards—for whose safeguarding he was re- 
sponsible with his life—had escaped, would 
have killed himself; just as nowadays a Jap- 
anese jailer would commit hari-kari under 
like circumstances. But Paul cried, ‘‘Do 
thyself no harm! We are. all here!’’ 
Whereupon the man, who had_ probably 
heard Paul’s message, cried out under sud- 
den conviction, ‘‘Sirs, what must I do to be 
saved?’’ There could be only one answer: 
‘*Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!’’ That 
done, the rest would be plain sailing. The 
jailer fell in with the overtures of divine 
mercy and became a Christian. 

Here were three wonderful trophies to 
show for the campaign at Philippi. And 
who shall say how many were saved through 
them ? 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 83 


We now observe Paul in a different light. 
Thus far he had pursued his work as a most 
humble man. But when the magistrates, 
on Jearning that Paul was a Roman citizen 
and had been scourged without due process 
of law, sent messengers to say, ‘‘ Let those 
men go,’”’ those men refused to go. ‘‘Nay, 
verily,’’ said Paul. ‘*They have beaten us 
openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and 
have cast us into prison; and now do they 
thrust us out privily? Nay, verily; but let 
them come themselves and fetch us out!’’ 
Thus he stood squarely upon his rights. 
But when anything was to be gained by do- 
ing so, we shall find that he and his com- 
panions were ever willing to lay down all 
their rights that men might walk over them 
into the kingdom of God. 


x 


AT THESSALONICA 


Acts 17: 1-9 


On being driven out of Philippi the band 
of missionaries turned their faces toward 
the west. ‘*‘Westward the course of Empire 
takes its way.’’ A journey of seventy miles 
—passing through the unimportant towns 
of Amphipolis and Appolonia—brought 
them to Thessalonica; and there, in the hos- 
pitable home of Jason, they fried for sev- 
eral months. 

Why were they attracted to riiheesalericen 2 
First, because it was a populous place and in 
many respects the most important city in 
that portion of the world. Second, because 
there was a considerable number of Jews 
there, whose religion furnished a foundation 
for the preaching of the Messianic claims 
of Jesus. Third, because it was the center 
of the weaving industry; where Paul the 

re 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 85 


tent-maker would be likely to find work. 
(1 Thess. 2:9.) Fourth, because it was a 
eoign of vantage for an enterprise that was 
intended and expected to radiate far and 
wide. 

To-day Salonica is the second city of Tur- 
key in Europe. In the World’s War the 
troops of the Entente Alliance were landed 
there to advance upon the enemy on the east- 
ern front. 

On three successive Sabbaths the mission- 
aries preached in the synagogue,’ reasoning 
from the Scriptures that ‘‘this Jesus is the 
Christ,’’? and with the usual result. Many 
of the Hellenes, i. e., Judaized pagans, were 
converted; but the Jews themselves were 
‘‘slow of heart to believe all that the 
prophets had spoken.’’ Then, as their cus- 
tom was, the missionaries left the synagogue 
and turned to the Gentiles, enough of whom 
were converted to form the nucleus of an 
important church. 

It was too much to expect, however, that 
they would be allowed to continue in this 


1There are thirty-six synagogues in the modern city of 
Salonica. 


86 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


way. The Jews succeeded in persuading 
certain ‘‘lewd fellows of the baser sort’’— 
the lazzarom or ‘‘idlers of the forum’’—to 
drive them out. A mob stormed the house 
of Jason, and, not finding the missionaries, 
carried him and his associates before the 
magistrates, who, perceiving no ground of 
action, bound them over to keep the peace 
and let them go. 

All of which suggests a number of things. 

First, the gospel never changes. A con- 
verted Jew in charge of a mission among 
his countrymen tells me that his work is pre- 
cisely along the lines marked out by Paul, 
‘‘opening and alleging from the Scriptures 
that this Jesus is the Christ.’’ 

Second, the opposition never changes. 
The Christians of Armenia are persecuted 
and massacred by the Turks on the pretext 
that they are turning things ‘‘upside down’’ 
by their insistence on the supremacy of 
Christ. 

Third, the assurance of success never 
changes. Paul and his companions may 
have counted their labor as water poured 
upon the ground; but ten years later, in a 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 87 


letter written to the church in Thessalonica, 
he says, ‘‘From you sounded out the word 
of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and 
Achaia; but also in every place your faith 
to Godward is spread abroad.’’ The faith 
to Godward of these Christians was no light 
hid under a bushel: it ‘‘sounded forth’’ like 
the blast of a trumpet before the chariot of 
an advancing king; it ‘‘went forth’’ like the 
shout of an army following after him. 

Let all the Lord’s workers be of good 
cheer; the seed-sowing is never 1n vain, 
though oftentimes the harvest ripens on 
their graves. ‘The promise is yea and amen: 
‘*He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless’’ (not may but 
shall; not perhaps but doubtless) ‘*‘come 
again ae rejoicing, et ras his sheaves 
with him.’ 


XI 


AT BERGA 


ACTS 17: 10-14 


On leaving Thessalonica, under cover of 
the night, Paul turned his face toward the 
southwest; and after a journey of sixty 
miles came to Bercea. This was a city of no 
special importance except for the fact that 
it lay on a slope of the Olympian range and 
was supposed to be under the special care 
of the twelve gods. 

The Jews of Bercea are characterized as 
‘‘more noble than those of Thessalonica”’ be- 
cause ‘‘they received the word with readi- 
ness of mind.’’ This is a Title of Nobility 
which is open to all. ‘*A king can mak’ a 
belted knight, a marquis, duke an’ a’ that’’; 
but only God can admit a man into the Peer- 
age of Truth. 

(1) Its*saidiot these Berceans, to their 
credit, that “‘they searched the Scriptures 


daily, whether those things were so.”’ 
88 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 89 


By this we are given to understand, on the 
one hand, that they believed in the Scrip- 
tures as the infallible test and standard of 
truth. As to their inspiration, this was not 
an open but a closed question, having been 
settled by and for these converts when they 
entered into covenant with God. 

The reason why many of the church mem- 
bers of our time are oppressed with doubts 
as to the fundamentals of the gospel is be- 
cause they are not fully persuaded in their 
own minds that the Bible can be trusted; a 
point which should have been determined 
at the very outset of their Christian life. 

On the other hand, it appears that when 
Paul presented some unusually startling 
propositions, they did not take him at his 
word, but ‘*searched the Scriptures’’ to see 
whether these things were so. 

What a lot of perplexity would be avoided 
if the Christians of our time were to treat 
current problems in the same way. ‘The 
trouble is that, in many cases, the original 
question as to the trustworthiness of Scrip- 
ture is still undetermined, so that they have 
nothing to go by. Instead of applying the 


90 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


divine touchstone to their doubts, they must 
needs be forever investigating the reliability 
of the touchstone itself. 

In many of our so-called ‘‘Bible classes’’ 
the pupils are instructed about the Bible and 
not in it. They are lke prospectors who 
go about searching for a gold-field, rather 
than like miners who, having found a gold- 
field, are engaged in getting the eat out 
of it. 

(2) We are advised, fEom the example of 
the Bercans, as to the right method of 
searching the Scriptures. 

There are some who read the Bible for no 
other purpose, apparently, than to criticise 
it. This is the case with many who eall 
themselves ‘‘Biblical experts’’; they ap- 
proach the Book with an ill-disguised preju- 
dice against it. Of course, under such cir- 
cumstances, they find errors and discrepan- 
cies where none are visible to unbiased eyes. 

There are others who study the Bible to 
confirm their own opinions. These are 
evsegetes, reading their own views into the 
Book instead of getting their doctrine out 
of it, as devout exegetes are wont to do. 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS fa 


Others still are moved to search the Scrip- 
tures by a sincere desire to discover the 
truth. In order to succeed in this quarter 
there must be, first, a readiness to learn what 
God has to say about the matter in hand, 
and, second, a personal independence which 
takes no man’s word for it. The Berceans 
were to be praised for declining to accept 
Paul’s statements on his own recognizance 
until they had applied the touchstone. No 
man’s ipse diait is final, whether in the pul- 
pit or out of it. Nothing is conclusive but 
the Word of God. 

(3) What was the result? The Berceans 
came to the conclusion that Paul’s postulate, 
‘‘his Jesus is the Christ,’’ was true to their 
Oracles; and therefore they accepted it. 

Thus they found Christ, as it is written, 
“Therefore many of them believed.’? And, 
finding Christ, they found life also; as he 
himself had said, ‘‘Search the Scriptures; 
for in them ye think (and rightly think) 
ye have eternal life; and these are they 
which testify of me.”’ 

Here we leave the Berceans. The preach- 
ing of Paul might have gone on indefinitely 


a2 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


but for mischief-makers who came over from 
Thessalonica and created a disturbance. 
With a due regard for discretion as the bet- 
ter part of valor, he took his departure to 
larger fields. The pagan world was before 
him—Athens, Corinth and the regions be- 
yond! Still ‘‘ Westward the course of Em- 
pire takes its way.”’ 


XIT 


AT ATHENS 


AcTsS 17: 15-34 


On being expelled from Bercea the apostle 
went down to the nearest seaport and took 
ship for Athens. A three days’ voyage car- 
ried him past some of the most memorable 
scenes in history, such as Thermopyle, where 
Leonidas and his three hundred died for 
freedom, and Marathon, where Themistocles 
drove back the Persian invasion. But 
Paul’s interest lay further on. 

Landing at Pirzus, he at once proceeded 
to Athens, ‘‘the eye of Greece, mother of 
arts and eloquence.”’ 

Standing alone in the market-place he saw 
a city ‘‘wholly given to idolatry.’’ There 
were statues of the gods on every hand; 
colonnades of gods; ‘‘more gods than men.”’ 
On looking down the street of Hermes he 


saw a winged figure of the Olympian herald 
93 


94. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


in front of every home; if he looked along 
the Avenue of Tripods, he would see an un- 
broken line of altars and statues, with votive 
offerings presented by grateful athletes 
Whom the gods had helped in the Isthmian 
games. Gods everywhere! Gods on ped- 
estals, in niches, on the corners of the 
streets; gods and demigods; good, bad and 
indifferent—a wilderness of gods! No won- 
der the devout soul of the missionary was 
stirred within him. | 

He began his work at ‘once, ‘‘disputing in 
the synagogue with the Jews, and in the 
Agora daily with them that met with him.’’ 
There was no difficulty in getting an audi- 
ence; for Athens was proverbially the para- 
dise of gossips and saunterers. Its shib- 
boleth was, ‘‘What’s the news?’’ So they 
gathered about him, men and women, priests 
and philosophers, all sorts and conditions of 
people. And he spoke to them of Jesus and 
the Resurrection, or as the Greeks had it, 
‘‘ Jesus and Anastasis,’?’ whom they sup- 
posed to be a pair of new deities. He who 
introduced a god into Athens was counted a 
public benefactor. The interest of his audi- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 95 


ence was thus enlisted at once. Presently 
they said, ‘‘ Let us go to Areopagus for a bet- 
ter hearing.’’ So to the Hill of Mars they 
went; and the apostle there preached a ser- 
mon which has come ringing down the ages. 


OBSERVE THE PREACHER 


A little man, stoop-shouldered, weak-eyed 
and a stammerer; but it did not take the 
Athenians long to discover that here was no 
ordinary man. 


OBSERVE THE PULPIT 


A fateful place. Many a culprit had been 
there. devoted to death. On this platform 
Demosthenes had stood and uttered ‘‘ breath- 
ing thoughts in burning words.’’ Here Soc- 
rates had made his apology and was con- 
demned to drink the fatal hemlock. On a 
shelf of rock near by stood the Temple of 
the Furies; and above it towered the Temple 
of Mars. To this place Paul brought such 
‘‘news’’ as these newsmongers had never 
heard before. He spoke as an ambassador 
from the court of heaven, bringing a mes- 
sage of peace to troubled souls. 


96 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


OBSERVE THE AUDIENCE 


Not a few of Paul’s hearers had the names 
of their deities worn as frontlets between 
their eyes. Here were philosophers also and 
students in classic robes, representing all the 
various schools by the Ilissus. Some were 
Stoics; 1. e., pantheists, who spoke of God as 
‘the universal soul,’’ and of man as an ex- 
halation whose destiny was to be absorbed 
presently in the all-pervading Spirit of the 
Universe, as a drop of water disappears in a 
boundless sea. Others were Epicureans, 
materialists, who said ‘‘Death ends all.”’ 
And, inasmuch as life was circumscribed by 
the narrow horizons of time and sense, what 
better could they do than make the most of 
the passing hour? Their aphorism was, 
‘‘Let us eat, drink and be merry; for to- 
morrow we die.’’ Others were Academ- 
icians, practical agnostics, whose sugges- 
tions were all prefaced with a perhaps or 
it-may-be-so. And besides these there was 
the usual throng of curiosity-mongers and 
hangers-on. To the mind of the great Mis- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 97 


sionary all these were souls, precious in the 
sight of God. 


OBSERVE THE SERMON 


Its exordium was most felicitous. Tak- 
ing for his text the inscription upon an altar 
which he had observed in the market-place, 
‘“To an Unknown God,’’ he began by say- 
ing, ‘‘ Ye men of Athens, in all things I per- 
ceive that ye are very religious.’’ It was a 
clever compliment and gained him their 
good-will. Huis proposition was announced 
in these terms: “‘This unknown God de- 
clare I unto you.’ He then proceeded to 
show how God, so far from being really un- 
known, had unveiled himself in many ways: 
first, in creation; he ‘‘made the world and 
all things therein’’: second, in providence; 
‘*In him we live and move and have our be- 
ing’’: and third, in grace; ‘‘By that Man 
whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath 
given assurance unto all men in that he 
raised him from the dead.’’ At this point 
the speaker was interrupted and the assem- 
bly was broken up. 


98 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


OBSERVE THE RESULT 


There were some who mocked; others who 
said, “‘We will hear thee again’’ (but they 
probably never did), and a few who believed. 
Among these were Dionysius, a member of 
the Court of Areopagus, and a woman named 
Damaris, of whom we hear no more. 

But Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill was not 
in vain; for thus saith the Lord, ‘‘As the 
rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, 
and returneth not thither, but watercth the 
earth and maketh it bring forth and bud, 
that it may give seed to the sower and bread 
to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth 
forth out of my mouth; it shall not return 
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
which I please, and it shall prosper in the 
thing whereto I sent it.’’ 


XITTI 


AT CORINTH 


Acts 18: 1-22 


All that now remains of Corinth is a con- 
fused mass of ruins. At the time of Paul’s 
visit it vied with Athens in renown: but they 
were very different cities. Athens was 
learned and aristocratic; Corinth was com- 
mercial and democratic. Its two ports, Cen- 
chreez on the east and Lechzum on the west, 
invited the commerce of the world. Its 
magnificent places of amusement made it the 
most popular of summer resorts. Its Tem- 
ple of Venus (where no less than a thousand 
so-called ‘‘priestesses’’ were consecrated to 
open sensuality) with innumerable shrines 
of other gods, threw over its nameless vices 
the glamour of religion. To speak of a 
woman as ‘‘a Corinthian’’ was equivalent to 
calling her a courtesan. ‘To say that a young 
man was ‘‘living in Corinth”’ was to affirm 


that he was recklessly sowing his wild oats. 
99 


100 .LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


It was a busy, wealthy, populous, pleasure- 
loving, splendid, wicked city. 

Paul was alone when he came to Corinth, 
having left his three companions—Luke, 
Silas and Timothy—to look after the con- 
verts in Philippi, Thessalonica and Bercea. 
He began his work, as usual, by preaching in 
the synagogue, ‘‘and persuaded the Jews and 
the Greeks.’’ When Silas and Timothy 
joined him he had added impetus; he was 
‘pressed in the spirit, and testified to the 
Jews that Jesus was Christ.’’ As usual the 
Jews refused to hear him. He then ‘‘turned 
to the Gentiles’’: and continued his labors 
among them a year and a half, organizing 
the converts into one of the strongest and 
most faithful of the early churches. 

Among the first of these converts were 
Aquila and Priscilla, a man and his wife 
who, having been driven out of Rome by 
the decree of Claudius against the Jews, had 
come to Corinth and set up a tent-maker’s 
shop. Paul found employment here and, 
while engaged at his trade, converted his em- 
ployers to Christ. In after years they were 
among his most devoted friends. 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 101 


Another of the early converts of this cam- 
paign was Crispus, the ruler of the syna- 
gogue, who of course lost his position when 
he accepted Christ. He and his family were 
among the few whom Paul himself baptized ; 
this sacrament being usually committed to 
other hands, perhaps because of his physi- 
cal infirmities. (See 1 Cor. 1: 14-17.) 

Another of the Corinthian converts was 
Gaius, probably a man of considerable 
wealth and distinction; whom Paul calls 
‘‘my host,’’ from which we may infer that 
the apostle made his home with him. (Ro- 
mans 16: 23.) 

Another was a certain Justus, ‘‘whose 
house joined hard to the synagogue.’’ When 
the synagogue was closed to the preaching 
of the gospel, the home of Justus was thrown 
open to the followers of Christ; and the 
Corinthian church, which was destined to 
play so important a part in history, was 
organized there. 

Another of Paul’s personal friends was 
Sosthenes, who had succeeded Crispus when 
the latter was deposed as ruler of the syna- 
gogue. Paul speaks of him affectionately 


102 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


as ‘four brother.’? (1 Cor. 1:1.) It would 
appear that he subsequently served as the 
apostle’s seribe or amanuensis, a_ helper 
greatly needed by Paul on account of his 
weak eyes. 

There were many other Corinthian stars 
in Paul’s crown of rejoicing, some of whom 
~ are mentioned, all of whom are recorded in 
the heavenly Book of Remembrance. In 
one of his darkest hours of spiritual depres- 
sion—for Paul was a man of like passions 
with other men and there were many dis- 
couragements in his lonely work—he had a 
vision in which the Lord comforted him by 
saying, ‘‘Be not afraid, but speak, and hold 
not thy peace; for I am with thee, . . . for 
IT have much people in this city.’’ By which 
he was given to understand that his work 
was not to be measured by its visible fruits. 
‘The Lord knoweth them that are his.’’ 
Who can count the ‘‘hidden ones’’? 

An attempt was made by the Jews to break 
up Paul’s work, by bringing against him 
the charge, ‘‘This fellow persuadeth men to 
worship God contrary to the law,”’ i.e., con- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 103 


trary to the Jewish law. fortunately the 
ease came before a brother of Seneca, known 
as ‘‘the amiable Gallio,’’ who at this time 
was Proconsul of Achaia. As a Roman 
magistrate he very properly declined to pass 
upon a purely religious question and threw 
the matter out of court. 

The church at Corinth being organized 
and well under way, Paul ‘‘took leave of the 
brethren’’ and set sail for home. By the 
way he tarried at Ephesus and at Jerusalem 
—where he had a vow to fulfill—and at > 
Cesarea; and then on to Antioch, the center 
of operations, to report the blessed results 
of his Second Missionary Journey. It was, 
doubtless, a happy ‘‘hame-bringing,’’ accom- 
panied with much thanksgiving for the good- 
ness of God. 

How little did the wealthy, worldly, pleas- 
ure-loving, idol-worshiping people of Cor- 
inth suspect that their city would find its 
most enduring fame through the patient, 
difficult, inconspicuous work of Paul! Who 
would have imagined that its most distin- 
guished citizen, the Proconsul Gallio, would 


104 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


best be remembered by his association with 
‘‘the ugly little Jew’’!* Here is comfort 
for all humble workmen. 


‘‘Toil on; in hope o’ercome 
The steeps God set for thee; 
For past the Alpine summits of great toil 
Lieth thine Italy !’’ 


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XIV 
THE THIRD JOURNEY 
ACTS. 18: 23-28; 19:1-41; 20:1 


On reaching Antioch in Syria, at the close 
of his second journey, Paul settled down for 
‘‘some time,’’ probably the greater part of a 
year. Then the wanderlust of missions 
again took possession of him; and he set out 
to revisit and ‘‘strengthen’’ the churches. 

‘*All the country of Galatia and Phrygia,”’ 
being familiar ground, was passed over as 
rapidly as possible and without note. The 
great city of Ephesus was the first objective 
point; after which Paul proposed to push on 
to Corinth, thence to Jerusalem, and after 
that to Rome. Always to Rome! 


AT EPHESUS 


But events so shaped themselves, and so 
great were the demands of the people of 


Ephesus, that on reaching that city he was 
105 


106. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


constrained to remain there three whole 
years. 

T. It will be remembered that on the re- 
turn from his second missionary journey he 
had brought with him the _ tent-makers 
Aquila and Priscilla, whom he left at Ephe- 
sus. (Acts 18:19.) These faithful work- 
ers had not been idle there; but by a quiet 
ministry had been arranging a full ‘‘prepar- 
edness’’ for Paul’s arrival. 

IJ. The presence of Apollos in Ephesus 
had contributed to the same end. He is 
spoken of as ‘‘a Jew of Alexandria, an elo- 
quent man and mighty in the Scriptures.”’ 
The fact that he came from Alexandria, the 
city of the great library and of the Septua- 
gint, is an intimation that he was a learned 
man. His familiarity with the Scriptures 
shows that he was a loyal Jew. The further 
statement that he ‘‘taught diligently the 
things of the Lord’’ makes it clear that he 
had at least accepted the Messiahship of 
Jesus; and, being ‘‘fervent in spirit,’’ he 
was doing his utmost to persuade others to 
believe in it. 

But as yet he was inadequately equipped 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 107 


for his work, ‘‘knowing only the baptism of 
John.’’ He had learned much of Jesus at 
second hand; but of his real teaching, of the 
true significance of the Cross, and particu- 
larly as to the reality and personality of the 
Holy Spirit, he had little or no information. 

At this juncture Aquila and Priscilla came 
to the rescue. ‘‘T'hey expounded unto him 
the way of God more perfectly.’’ A curious 
conjunction, this; the learned Apollos sitting 
at the feet of two tent-makers! Was there 
ever a stranger theological seminary than 
this in the house of Aquila and Priscilla? 
But even they could not fully instruct him 
in the way. They could help him to move 
on from the baptism of John the Baptist, 
which was only unto repentance, into the 
baptism of Jesus, which was unto the fulness 
of life; but they were incompetent to advise 
him as to the miracle of Pentecost and its 
wonderful significance. Poor Apollos! It 
is a hard business for one who has not made 
the acquaintance of the Holy Spirit to ‘‘run 
up the heavenly way.’’ 

III. This, then, was the state of affairs 
when Paul arrived in Ephesus. Apollos 


108 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


was not there to greet him, having gone on 
to Corinth with credentials from his Ephe- 
sian friends; and he was now engaged in 
‘‘helping believers and convincing the 
Jews”’ of that city: but he had left behind 
him in Ephesus a little group of earnest 
seekers after truth. 

Paul at once entered the synagogue after 
his usual custom, and for three months con- 
tinued to ‘‘speak boldly,’ ‘‘disputing and 
persuading the things concerning the king- 
dom of God’’: and of course with the usual 
result. | 

On being expelled from the synagogue he 
entered the School of Tyrannus—possibly a 
philosopher who had lost his following— 
where he made his headquarters for two 
years ormore. During this time three inci- 
dents of special note occurred. 

First, Paul met the followers of Apollos, 
twelve men in particular, of whom he asked, 
‘‘Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye 
believed?’’ They answered (not, ‘‘We have 
not so much as heard whether there be any 
Holy Ghost,’’ but), ‘‘Nay, we did not so 
much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 109 


given.’’ Whereupon Paul told them how 
Christ’s promise had been fulfilled on the 
Day of Pentecost. And when they con- 
fessed that they had only received John’s 
baptism unto repentance, he baptized them 
‘‘in the name of the Lord Jesus,’’ with the 
baptism of fire and power. 

Second, the great bonfire. The supersti- 
tious use of the name of Jesus by the seven 
Sons of Sceva, for the healing of demoni- 
acal possession, led to a general revolt among 
the Christians against all sorts of fetichism; 
so that charms and cabalistic letters of every 
sort were brought together and burned up. 
If all our fetiches were thus disposed of— 
such as rosaries and crooked sixpences and 
broad phylacteries and foolish dreads of 
thirteen and Friday and the like—what a 
bonfire there would be! 

Third, the riot, led by Demetrius the sil- 
versmith. Paul’s preaching against the 
worship of idols had so reduced the sale of 
shrines and images that great Diana, the 
tutelary goddess of Ephesus, was being set 
at naught. The craftsmen, whose business 
was seriously affected, stirred up the popu- 


110 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


lace; and Paul and his companions might 
have fared badly indeed but for the tactful 
management of the town-clerk in dispersing 
the mob. 

It was at length apparent to Paul that the 
time had arrived to move on: so ‘‘he called 
unto him the disciples, and embraced them, 
and departed.’’ He had already dispatched 
Timothy and Erastus to Corinth to prepare 
the way before him. On to Thessalonica, to 
Berea, to Athens, to Rome. Always to 
Rome, the center of the world! He must 
preach the gospel at Rome! 


XV 


A BUSY YEAR—A.D. 57 


Acts 20:1-12 


At the close of Paul’s three eventful vears 
in Hphesus, ‘‘the uproar having ceased,”’’ he 
resumed his journey: leaving Timothy be- 
hind him to look after the welfare of the 
Christians in that city. (1 Tim. 1:3.) 

He went afoot to Troas, probably canvass- 
ing en route the Seven Churches of Asia. 
He had been hoping that Titus would join: 
him at Troas; but being disappointed in this, 
he pressed on alone, *‘exhorting’’ by the way. 
(2 Cor. 2: 12, 13.) 

On reaching Macedonia he revisited the 
churches of Philippi, Thessalonica and Be- 
rea, meanwhile reaching out into other un- 
evangelized towns and villages. Not satis- 
fied with this he pushed on into the regions 


beyond, going ‘‘round about unto Illyri- 
111 


12. EIFECAND ICE DPERS I Ohrs DRAW 


cum,’’* the mountainous country on the 
eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. 

It is characteristic of Paul that he should 
have passed over this important and danger- 
ous itinerary with so slight mention. Who 
knows what wonders were wrought, what 
seed-sowing for future harvest, by this 
‘‘roundabout’”’ tour? ‘‘The day shall de- 
clare it.’”’, (Romans 15:19; 1 Cor. 3:13.) 

He then turned southward into Greece, 
and on reaching Corinth was comforted by 
the arrival of his beloved Titus. (2 Cor. 
7:6, 7.) While there, for a period of three 
months, he not only preached and ministered 
to the disciples but found time to write the 
Epistle to the Romans, which was sent by 
the hand of the deaconess Phoebe, as a cir- 
cular letter to the Gentile churches. 

It was now his purpose to sail for Syria, 
accompanied by seven chosen helpers; 
namely, Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, 
Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus and Trophimus; 
anoble band. But ‘‘man proposes, God dis- 
poses.’’ A plot was discovered against the 


1]llyricum embraced the modern countries of Bosnia, 
Croatia and Dalmatia. 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS IPs 


life of Paul which made it necessary for the 
Seven to sail without him, the understanding 
being that he would rejoin them at Troas. 

So Paul, alone and afoot, turned his face 
toward the north and came roundabout to 
Philippi, where he was in time to join his 
friends in the keeping of the Passover; a 
feast which had a peculiar significance for 
the early Christians by reason of its close 
association with the Lord’s Supper. (1 Cor. 
5:7, 8.) At this point Paul’s comfort and 
happiness were greatly enhanced by meet- 
ing Luke, his physician and devoted friend, 
who had been left in charge of the Philippian 
church and whose connection with the nar- 
rative is still indicated by the occurrence of 
the familiar ‘‘ we.”’ 

After the celebration of the feast, Luke 
says, ‘‘we sailed away from Philippi,’’ and 
eame ‘‘to Troas.’’ The voyage took five 
days, twice the usual time, by reason of the 
equinoctial winds. On their arrival they 
met the seven missionaries with many others 
and remained seven days. On the evening 
of the first day of the week (note the observ- 
ance of the First Day as the Christian Sab- 


114 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


bath), when the chureh was assembled for 
worship, Paul preached until midnight. 
The room was crowded, the air was bad (ow- 
ing to ‘‘many lights’’), and the sermon was 
long: wherefore it is not surprising that a 
youth named EKutychus should have gone to 
the window ledge for a breath of fresh air. 
Overcome by faintness and drowsiness, he 
fell into the street and was taken up dead; 
whereupon Paul restored him to life. The 
meeting then continued until the break of 
day. 

The band of missionaries took ship the 
next morning; but again they left Paul be- 
hind them. For some reason he preferred 
to go afoot and by himself, agreeing to rejoin 
his companions at Assos, a port of entry 
twenty miles south. Here with his staff in 
hand on the lonely road we leave him. 

A busy year, indeed. Paul was a born 
itinerant: and how wonderfully he made his 
itineraries tell for the glory of God! He 
was engaged all this year in doing three 
things: 

' First, ‘*Exhorting.’’ The Greek here 
means ‘‘calling near with much discourse.”’ 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 115 


Paul was always persuading the unconverted 
to come to Christ and Christians to come 
nearer. This was his conception of preach- 
ing. There are many unsuccessful preach- 
ers who would do well to adopt it. 

Second, writing to the churches. Two 
certainly and probably more of his epistles 
were composed during this year. How did 
he find time for this? Where was his leisure 
for study? The answer is that time and 
leisure are always given in sufficiency to 
those who plan great things for God. 

Third, ‘‘Collecting for the saints.”’ It 
was in Paul’s mind, when projecting this 
journey, to canvass the Gentile churches for 
another offering in behalf of the famine- 
stricken Christians at Jerusalem. This help 
was in due time received by the mother 
ehurch with many thanks; and it served as 
an effective bond of union between the Jew- 
ish and Gentile followers of Christ. 

So did the great Missionary employ his 
time and energy for Christ. In that very 
year the Roman general Suetonius was push- 
ing his conquests in Britain. Who would 
have predicted that Paul would survive Sue- 


116 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


tonius even in the world’s esteem? Yet so 
itis. The reason? Paul had set his heart 
upon the noblest and best, saying, ‘‘The love 
of Christ constraineth me.’’ 

Paul, like Suetonius, was dreaming of con- 
quest, but of another sort. In his Epistle to 
the Romans (15: 20-33) he says, ‘‘ Whenso- 
ever I take my journey into Spain I will 
come to you.’’ He meant to reach Spain— 
the end of the world by ‘‘the Pillars of 
Hercules’’—pausing at Rome on the way! 
What if he did fail of that far-distant goal? 
It is the dreamers of dreams and the seers 
of visions who ever accomplish great things 
for God. 


XVI 
AT MILETUS 


ACTS 20: 13-38 


FAREWELL TO OLD FRIENDS 


The group of missionaries, as we have 
seen, sailed from Troas without Paul; the 
understanding being that he would rejoin 
them at Assos. He set out, accordingly, 
alone and afoot—perhaps because he longed 
to be by himself for prayer and meditation— 
and after a journey of twenty miles reached 
Assos, where the ship with his friends was 
awaiting him. The voyage was close in- 
shore and cautiously slow on account of the 
equinoctial winds. 

No stop was made at Ephesus, because 
Paul wished to be at Jerusalem in time for 
the Feast of Pentecost. The ship touched, 
however, at Miletus; which was near enough 
for the elders of the Ephesian church to 
come, at the summons of the great apostle, 


to hold a farewell interview with him. 
117 


118 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


The most notable of the ruins of this an- 
cient city of Miletus are the standing col- 
umns of a pagan temple and the well-pre- 
served circle of an amphitheater once 
thronged by the pleasure-seekers of Ephesus. 
But never did that imposing place witness so 
memorable an assembly as now knelt upon 
the shore under the open sky. 

The address of Paul began with a touching 
review of his faithful ministry among them: 
‘Ye know how I was with you, in all humil- 
~ ity and with many tears; how I taught you 
publicly and from house-to house; how I 
kept nothing back, but declared unto you the 
whole counsel of God.’’ Then a brief refer- 
ence to the future: ‘‘I go bound in the 
spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the 
things that shall befall me there, save that 
the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, say- 
ing that bonds and afflictions abide me. But 
none of these things move me, neither count 
I my life dear unto myself, so that I might 
finish my course with joy, and the ministry 
which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to 
testify the gospel of the grace of God.”’ 

Five years later we shall see him still 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 119 


confronting the future with unfaltering 
faith and courage, saying, ‘‘Brethren, I 
count not myself to have apprehended: but 
this one thing I do, forgetting those things 
which are behind, and reaching forth unto 
those things which are before, I press toward 
the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus.”’ 
_ Ten years later still we shall find him in 
the Mammertine jail, listening for the foot- 
fall of his executioner and saying, ‘‘I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my de- 
parture is at hand. I have fought a good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me 
a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: 
and not to me only, but unto all them also 
that love his appearing.”’ 

Wonderful faith! Splendid courage! 
Noble ambition; to ‘‘finish his course with 
j oy” 

He then, in his address, turned from him- 
self to the needs of his Christian friends. 
Hear his ominous words: ‘‘I know this, 
that after my denarting shall grievous 


120 *LIFE AND'DETDERS OF ST. PAUL 


wolves enter in among you, not sparing the 
flock. Also of your own selves shall men 
arise, Speaking perverse things, to draw 
away disciples after them.’’ Wolves! 
Wolves! He was not thinking of persecu- 
tion. He assumed that as a matter of 
course; and took it for granted that the 
elders of Ephesus would be prepared to meet 
it. But wolves in sheep’s clothing! Some 
‘fof your own selves’?! Men in canonicals 
and bound by ordination vows! 

Then followed a two-fold warning. 

First, ‘*‘take heed to yourselves!’’ For 
doubtless they were inwardly asking, like 
the disciples in the upper room, ‘‘Is it 1?”’ 
Paul himself was not overconfident of his 
own strength, else why should he say, ‘‘ Lest 
when I have preached to others, I myself 
should be a castaway’’? (1 Cor. 9: 26, 27.) 
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth 
take heed lest he fall. 

Second, ‘‘Take heed to all the flock, over 
the which the Holy Ghost hath made you 
overseers, to feed the church of God which 
he hath purchased with his own blood.”’ 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 121 


Observe, he does not say, ‘‘Make food for 
the flock,’’ as some of us ministers would 
seem to interpret it. The food is adequately 
provided in the Word of God; our business 
is simply to administer it. Wherefore all 
true sermons are expository. The mere 
opinion of a surpliced clergyman is of no 
more value than the tpse diait of other men. 
People come to church not to hear what the 
preacher has to say about the great prob- 
lems of life and immortality, but to hear 
what God has to say through him. Our 
function, accordingly, is not to manufacture 
truth and ethics, but to feed the flock with 
what has been divinely provided, and to 
‘keep nothing back,’’ but ‘‘declare the whole 
counsel of God.’’ 

This two-fold admonition is followed by a 
recital of certain words of Christ which are 
recorded nowhere else in Scripture: ‘‘Re- 
member the words of the Lord Jesus, how 
he said, It is more blessed to give than to 
receive.’’ Thanks to Paul for this authentic 
quotation. It stands as a monograph of the 
wonderful life of Him who came not to be 


122 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


ministered unto but to minister, and marks 
out the path of usefulness for all who follow 
Him. 

The meeting closed with prayer. ‘‘He 
kneeled down and prayed with them all.’’ 
Would that the words of that prayer had 
been left us. Of this, however, we may be 
sure; it is preserved in those ‘‘golden vials 
of odors’? with which the four-and-twenty 
elders minister in the services of the Heay- 
enly City. (Rev. 5:8.) 

The elders have now gathered about Paul 
to say farewell. They are weeping, ‘‘most 
of all for the words which he spake, that 
they should see his face no more.’’ Fare- 
well! 

The moorings are loosed; the ship is under 
way. “The best of friends must part’’? 
Nay, Paul and the elders must indeed part, 
but not Christ and his true friends. For has 
he not said, ‘‘I will not leave you; lo, I am 
with you alway, even unto the end’’? 


‘*T could not live apart from Him; 
I love to feel Him nigh; 
And so we dwell together, 
My Lord and I.’’ 


XVII 


BOUND FOR JERUSALEM 


ACTS 215122, 237% 1-22 


The ship on which the missionary band 
left Miletus made ‘‘a straight course’’ to the 
southeast, touching only for necessary sup- 
plies and. for unlading at ports along the 
way. | 

AT TYRE 


The first stop of any importance was at 
Tyre, which would probably be reached on 
the sixth day. Here there was a delay of a 
whole week, which Paul and his companions 
put to profitable use. The Christians there 
—some of them possibly dating their con- 
version from the time when Jesus made his 
foreign missionary tour in that region 
(Matt. 15:21)—were at once assembled to 
hear what their distinguished visitors had 
to say. 

It was a blessed week of fellowship, but 

123 


124 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


most trying to Paul, who was earnestly en- 
treated not to persist in going to Jerusalem. 
Tears and entreaties, however, were of no 
avail. Finding him immovable in his pur- 
pose, Luke says, ‘‘They all brought us on 
our way, with wives and children, till we 
were out of the city.’’ Then, as at Miletus, 
‘‘we kneeled down on the shore and prayed.”’ 
Again, farewell! 


AT PTOLEMAIS 


The ship touched at Ptolemais (familiarly 
known to students of the Crusades as Acre) 
for a single day: just long enough to ‘‘salute 
the brethren’”’ and say good-by. The rest of 
the journey to Caesarea was overland, about 
forty miles. 


AT CASSAREA 


Paul and his companions on their arrival 
here were met by the brethren, among whom 
was Philip the Evangelist, one of the orig- 
inal seven deacons, who had been driven out 
of Jerusalem thirty years before by the per- 
secuting Jews. In his hospitable home Paul 
was entertained ‘‘many days.’’ There were 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 125 


four unmarried daughters in the family, 
who had devoted their lives to ‘‘prophesy- 
ing,’’ the word being used broadly to signify 
the teaching of religious truth. What an 
oasis in the itinerant life of the busy apostle 
these ‘‘many days’’ in a happy home must 
have been! 

While he was there a divinely called and 
equipped teacher named Agabus came down 
from Jerusalem to warn him against his pro- 
jected visit to that city. He dramatically 
took off Paul’s girdle and bound it about his 
own hands and feet, saying, ‘‘So shall the 
Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that own- 
eth this girdle!’’ Whereupon, says Luke, 
‘He and they of that place besought him not 
to go.’’ But their entreaties were of no 
avail. Paul answered, ‘‘What mean ye to 
weep and to break my heart? For I am 
ready not to be bound only, but also to die 
at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord 
Jesus.’’ And when he would not be per- 
suaded, they ceased, saying, ‘‘The will of the 
Lord be done.’’ 

So the devoted band took up their luggage 
and went on, like Christ himself on his last 


126 °\LIFE AND CE ISDERS Oily PAUL 


fateful journey to Jerusalem, their faces 
‘‘set steadfastly to go.’’ They were accom- 
panied out of Cesarea by a bodyguard of 
Christians, among them an old disciple 
named Mnason, of whom we shall presently 
hear more. Little did Paul dream what a 
different escort he would have when he 
Should next return to this fateful city! 


AT JERUSALEM 


On reaching Jerusalem the missionaries 
were ‘‘gladly received’’ by the brethren of 
the mother church. Paul was happily en- 
tertained in the home of the aged Mnason. 
He was now among the familiar scenes of his 
boyhood. No doubt he met many of his for- 
mer Jewish friends, some of whom would 
recall their association with him at Gama- 
liel’s school; others who had known him of- 
ficially in the Sanhedrin in what they would 
have called his palmier days. 

On the morrow after his arrival a meet- 
ing of the ‘‘official board’’ of the church was 
called, at which James the pastor and his 
elders were ‘‘all present.’’ Paul told them 
the story of his missionary journeys thus 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS Vey 


far and of their rich ingathering of souls. 
But these Jewish Christians were in nu mood 
to rejoice with him. There was trouble in 
the air. 

‘‘Thou seest, brother,’’ said James, ‘‘ how 
many among us are zealous for the Jewish 
law. It is rumored that thou hast been 
teaching the Gentile converts that it is not 
necessary for them to observe that law. 
When thy presence in the city is spread 

abroad, take heed! We have this to sug- 
gest: here are four men who are discharging 
a vow: go up to the Temple, remain with 
these votaries during the ceremonial rites 
and pay their charges. This will disarm 
criticism and our people will have naught 
against thee.’’ | 

Inasmuch as no sacrifice of principle was 
involved in the proposed concession, Paul 
agreed to it. This was in pursuance of his 
policy of ‘‘being all things to all men, that he 
might by all means save some.’’ (1 Cor. 
9:22.) The line, however, was always 
drawn at the boundaries of right and wrong. 

But in this case his seemingly harmless 
compromise did not accomplish the desired 


128° “LIFEJAND (LETTERS SOR Sie PAUL. 


end. It chanced that certain Jews of Ephe- 
sus, who had come up to Pentecost, saw 
Paul in the Temple and immediately raised 
the ery, ‘‘Men of Israel, help! Here is that 
apostate who has been preaching against 
us!’? Presently the whole city was in an up- 
roar and Paul was faring ill at the hands of 
a bloodthirsty mob. 

The captain of the Roman garrison which 
was stationed at the Castle of Antonia near 
by, hearing the tumult, came at double-quick © 
with a troop of six hundred men. Paul was 
rescued, bound with chains to a soldier on 
either hand, and carried away to the castle. 
As he was being taken up the outer stair- 
way he explained to Captain Lysias who he 
was and desired permission to address the 
mob. This was granted; and he proceeded 
to tell the oft-repeated story of his conver- 
sion. All went well until he referred to his 
commission, ‘‘I will send thee far hence unto 
the Gentiles.’’? That was like a spark to 
tinder. ‘‘Away with him! Away with such 
a fellow from the earth! It is not fit that 
he should live!’’ 

He was hurried into the castle, and a com- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 129 


mand was given that he should be examined 
by scourging. But when Paul remarked 
that he was a Roman citizen, the captain not 
only desisted from the proposed scourging 
but gave orders that his prisoner should be 
loosed from his bonds. Thus it appears that 
Paul, who was always ready to turn the 
other cheek when anything was to be gained 
by doing so, was ready also on occasion to 
stand upon his rights. 

The next morning, on being haled to trial 
before the Sanhedrin, he began his defence 
by saying, ‘‘Men and brethren, I have lived 
in all good conscience before God until this 
day.’”’ That was as far as he was permitted 
to go. The high priest, who was none other 
than the sensual and corrupt Ananias, com- 
manded him to be smitten on the mouth. 
Paul, not knowing in the confusion who had 
given this command, retorted, ‘‘God shall 
smite thee, thou whited wall!’’ On being 
reproved for thus speaking of God’s 
anointed, he made a suitable explanation and 
apology. 

As Paul was then proceeding with his de- 
fence he perceived that certain of the Jews 


130 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


who were present sympathized with him in 
his affirmation of the resurrection of the 
dead: and, knowing that this was a hone -of 
contention between the Sadducees and Phar- 
isees, he executed a flank movement, so to 
speak, and divided his foes. Thereupon a 
great tumult arose. The Sadducees cried 
out against Paul; but the Pharisees said, 
‘“We find no evil in him. Let us take heed 
lest we be found fighting against God!’’ So 
back to the castle went the prisoner at the 
bar. 

The next day a conspiracy was framed up 
against Paul. There were forty Jews—as 
zealously bent on evil as were Ali Baba and 
his forty thieves—who bound themselves by 
a solemn vow to kill him. It chanced, how- 
ever, that Paul’s nephew got wind of the 
matter and informed Lysias of it. The cap- 
tain, fortunately, was not a man to counte- 
nance this sort of thing. At nine o’clock 
that night the sound of horses’ hoofs was 
heard in the open court of the castle. The 
prisoner was brought out and placed in the 
charge of a military escort of five hundred 
men, who were charged to take him to Casa- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 131 


rea and deliver him safely to the Roman 
Governor in that city. 

So ended Paul’s visit to Jerusalem. Was 
it a failure? No man fails who follows the 
pillar of cloud. Our success is never to be 
measured by visible results, but by faithful- 
ness in the discharge of whatever duty may 
be assigned to us. What said Luther when 
warned not to attend the Diet of Worms? 
‘‘T would go, at my Lord’s command, though 
_ the road to Worms were lined with devils as 
thick as the tiles on the housetops along the 
way.”’ 

This is to quit one’s self like a man! 


XVIIT 


AT CHSAREA 


ACTS 23: 23-35; 24; 25; 26 


On reaching Cesarea the Roman troop— 
that had been charged with the safe conduct | 
of Paul delivered him over to Felix the Gov- 
ernor, with the letter of Captain Lysias, as 
_ follows: 


“Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent 
Governor Feliz sendeth greeting. This man 
was taken of the Jews, and should have been 
killed of them: then came I with an army 
and rescued him, having understood that he 
was a@ Roman. And when I would have 
known the cause wherefore they accused him, 
I brought him forth wto their Couneil. 
There I perceived him to be accused of ques- 
tions of their Law, but to have nothing laid 
to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. 
And when it was told me how that the Jews 

132 


FAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 133 


laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to 
thee, and gave commandment to his accusers 
also to say before thee what they had against 
him. Farewell.’’ 


It was only twelve days since Paul had 
left Caesarea, despite all forebodings and 
warnings; and what a tragic return was this! 
He was then an honored guest of the breth- 
ren; now he is bound with chains and held as 
a prisoner in the Judgment Hall. 

The religious leaders at Jerusalem, gnash- 
ing their teeth at his escape, made haste to 
follow him. It was a journey of seventy 
miles; but none too far for Ananias the 
priest, whose ears were still tingling with 
Paul’s ‘‘thou whited wall’’; nor for others 
of the Jews whose hearts were full of bitter- 
ness against him. They brought with them 
a Roman barrister, named Tertullus, that 
the case might be suitably conducted at a 
Roman Court. 


THE TRIAL BEFORE FELIX 


The counsel for the prosecution began 
with the usual flattery of the court, and then 


134. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


presented the indictment, which was in three 
counts: First, the prisoner was a disturber 
of the peace; second, he was a ringleader of 
the Nazarene sect; third, he was guilty of 
sacrilege in profaning the Temple of the 
J ews. 

Paul entered a plea of not guilty under all 
but the second of these charges, affirming 
that there was no proof to sustain them. 

An acquittal was in order, for lack of evi- 
dence against the prisoner; but Felix was not 
the sort of magistrate to decide a case upon 
its merits. A slave by birth, a freedman by 
happy circumstances, an office-holder by im- 
perial favor, a past-master in all notorious 
vices, he postponed his decision ostensibly 
until Captain Lysias should arrive with the 
necessary proofs, but really in the hope that 
Paul’s friends would buy him off. 


THE PRISONER ON EXHIBITION 


Now it chanced that Felix had a most 
beautiful and graceless paramour, named 
Drusilla, whose curiosity was aroused by 
what she had learned of the eloquent Jew; 
so that she must needs hear him. He was 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 135 


summoned, accordingly, and invited to 
speak. A stranger audience had never as- 
sembled there; the Governor, his charming 
drab and the court favorites in rich apparel. 
No buttered words of compliment fell from 
the preacher’s lips that day. This man with 
a chain on either wrist spoke straight as a 
bolt of lightning to the sinful hearts of his 
hearers. ‘‘Righteousness, temperance, judg- 
ment to come’’! Well might Paul tremble 
for his temerity! It is not Paul, however, 
but Felix who trembles! He and the little 
Jew have changed places. The Governor 
stands a shaking prisoner at the Judgment 
Bar of God! But his fear is only momen- 
tary; a glance at Drusilla the enchantress 
dispels it. Farewell, opportunity! ‘‘Go 
thy way for this time; when I have a con- 
venient season I will call for thee.’’ 

The ‘‘convenient season’’ never came. 

It is a true saying, ‘‘Time and tide wait 
fornoman.’’ Paul languished two years in 
the guard-house, while Felix continued to 
take his pleasure at the pace that kills. 
Then, being removed from office, he left his 
prisoner bound ‘‘to please the Jews,”’ 


186. LIFE ANDILETTLERSIOF SI. PAUL 


THE TRIAL BEFORE FESTUS 


The next Governor was a different sort of 
man. In Josephus’ life of him he speaks of 
Festus as ‘‘a just and efficient ruler.’’ He 
had scarcely entered on his office before 
there came a request that Paul might be 
sent back to Jerusalem for trial before the 
Sanhedrin. A fine proceeding that would 
have been! Of course Festus refused; but 
he invited the rabbis to come down to Cesa- 
rea and conclude the ease. 

A few days later they were on hand; and 
court was opened with Festus on the bench. 
The charge was presented with ‘‘many and 
grievous complaints’’; to all of which the 
prisoner entered his former plea of not 
guilty. And unfortunately for his accusers 
they had still no evidence against him. The 
Governor was disposed to favor the Jews if 
it could be done without violating the law; 
wherefore he asked Paul if he had any objec- 
tion to the transfer of his case to Jerusalem 
that he might ‘‘there be judged of these 
things.’’ 

Paul’s forbearance had now reached its 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS | 137 


limit. He was weary of being beaten to and 
fro by petty magistrates in provincial courts. 
Thus far he had submitted without a mur- 
mur; but the time had come to stand upon 
his personal rights. If anybody has esti- 
mated the stature of this man at five feet 
two, let him measure him now! ‘‘I have 
done no wrong; I have spent a weary term 
in your guard-house: I have suffered no end 
_ of indignities at your hands. I will not go 

up to Jerusalem! I am a Roman citizen! 
I appeal to Cesar!’ 

After a brief conference with his coun- 
sellors as to the prisoner’s right of appeal, 
there being no alternative the decision was 
given in legal form: ‘‘T’o Cesar thou hast 
appealed; to Cesar shalt thou go.”’ 

The court adjourned, and Paul went back 
to prison to await the sailing of a govern- 
ment ship which was to convey other prison- 
ers also to the imperial city. But his heart 
was singing; he was going to Rome! Not 
indeed as he had hoped, free to declare the 
unsearchable riches of Christ; but he was 
going to Rome; and he was going in the way 
divinely marked out for him. 


138 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


THE PRISONER AGAIN ON EXHIBITION 


It happened that, while Paul was awaiting 
his transfer, Agrippa, the King of Trachoni- 
tis, came down to Caesarea to felicitate 
Festus on his accession to office; and his 
sister Bernice, a famous and malodorous 
beauty, came with him. They had heard 
much of the eloquent Jew and expressed a 
desire to hear him. 

A brilliant company was assembled in the 
Pretorian Hall when the prisoner was 
brought in. Being ‘‘permitted to speak for 
himself,’’? he began with the story of his 
early life, leading up rapidly to his singular 
conversion on the Damascus highway and to 
his unwavering conviction that the crucified 
Jesus was the long-looked-for Messiah of 
the Jews. At this point Festus, unable to 
restrain his indignation, cried: ‘‘ Paul, 
thou art beside thyself; much learning doth 
make thee mad!’”’ ‘‘I am not mad, most 
noble Festus,’’ was the prisoner’s calm re- 
joinder, ‘‘but speak forth the words of truth 
and soberness.’’ Then turning to the royal 
guest, himself a Jew, he appealed to his an- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 139 


eestral faith: ‘‘King Agrippa, believest 
thou the prophets? I know that thou be- 
hevest!’? Paul was now on familiar ground. 
He was acquainted with the prophets from 
Moses to Malachi; and knew how they all 
pointed to Jesus as the Christ. But 
Agrippa was in no mood to be thus cornered 
and convinced against his will. Huis answer 
was a scornful jest, ‘‘ Almost thou persuadest 
me to be a Christian!’’ Whereupon Paul, 
with the pathos of an infinite longing in his 
voice, emphasized by the clanking of the 
chains upon his wrists, made courteous re- 
ply, ‘‘I would to God that not only thou, but 
also all that hear me this day, were both 
‘almost’ and altogether such as I am—except 
these bonds.”’ 

The hearing is over. The prisoner is re- 
turned to the guard-house. In a corner of 
the Pretorian Hall a group of his auditors 
are saying, ‘‘This man hath done nothing 
worthy of death or even of  bonds.’’ 
Agrippa, whose sense of justice will not 
down, observes to Festus, ‘‘This man might 
have been set at liberty if he had not ap- 
pealed unto Cesar.’’ But the decree of the 


140 —- LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


court is irrevocable. T’o Cesar he must go... 

In his lonely cell the prisoner awaits the 
course of events. He is troubled by no mis- 
givings. God leads the way and his face is 
set steadfastly to go. His only ambition is 
to finish his course with joy. 


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XIX 
PAUL’S LAST VOYAGE 
ACTS 272-28: 1-14 


The ship was swinging at anchor in the 
harbor of Casarea, when a favorable wind 
sprang up. Paul with the other prisoners 
was at once taken aboard in the custody of 
a centurion named Julius, a man of marked 
courtesy, who was charged with their safe 
conduct to Rome. 


THE LOG OF THE VOYAGE 
(Kept by Luke the Physician, a Companion of Paul.) 


Aug. 21, A.D. 60. Set sail due north in a 
favorable breeze with two hundred and sev- 
enty-six souls aboard. 

Aug. 22. Touched at Sidon. Paul per- 
mitted to go ashore and interview his 
friends. ‘Thence in a northwesterly course 
for a time, after which due west. Delayed 


by contrary winds. 
141 


142) LIER AND EE DUE RS ODS TeaRaAw Is 


Aug. 29. Reached Myra, where we were 
transferred to an Alexandrian corn-ship 
making for Rome. Our quarters in the hold 
uncomfortable; but the Lord was with us. 
Winds rising; progress slow. 

Sept. 11. Touched at Cnidus, our last 
Asiatic port. Desired to sail due west, but 
forced southward by rising adverse winds. 

Sept. 26. Took refuge in Fair Havens in 
the island of Crete, an ill-sheltered port. 
Lay here many days, waiting for favorable 
weather. All hope of reaching Rome be- 
fore winter now givenup. The storm abat- 
ing for a while, the captain was disposed to 
make for Phenice, a safe and commodious 
harbor a few miles further on. Paul 
warned him vainly against doing so. What 
could a landsman like him know about navi- 
gation or weather signs? 

Oct. 18. Set sail from Fair Havens in a 
treacherous south wind. Had _ scarcely 
rounded the cape before there were ominous 
signs of a storm. Euroclydon, the sailor’s 
terror, was sweeping down from the hills! 
There was scarcely time to take in sail be- 
fore it overtook us. The second day out the 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 143 


vessel struck a leak and was undergirt with 
eables. On the third day the cargo was 
thrown over: followed the next day by all 
dispensable furniture and other equipments. 
Darkness for many days; lost our bearings. 
Hope abandoned. Then Paul to the rescue! 
He bade the sailors be of good cheer, because 
an angel of the Lord had appeared to him 
in a vision saying that he himself was to 
reach Rome safely and that there would he 
‘‘no loss of life’’ among the ship’s crew and 
passengers. Thereupon courage revived; 
but the typhoon swept on. 

Nov. 1. Wrecked on the coast of Malta. 
We were wakened at midnight by the look- 
out calling ‘‘Land ahead!’’ Soundings 
were taken; twenty fathoms, then fifteen. 
Cast anchor and awaited the break of day. 
The crew intending to take possession of the 
boats, Paul interposed, warning the captain 
that unless they remained all would be lost. 
His advice was taken; the ropes were cut, 
setting the boats adrift. Paul, the lands- 
man, was now in practical command of the 
ship. After long fasting all partook of 
food. In the morning, finding ourselves at 


144 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


the entrance of a bay, it was resolved to run 
in. The ship went aground and-was at the 
mercy of the pounding breakers. The 
soldiers, being answerable with their lives 
for the prisoners, would have killed them to 
prevent their escape; but the centurion in 
charge forbade it. Each for himself, now! 
Many, leaping out, swam ashore. Others 
betook themselves to boards and broken 
pieces of the ship. So it came to pass that 
all escaped safe to land. 

The island proved to be Malta. The bar- 
barous inhabitants received us kindly. A 
fire was kindled on the shore. Out of the 
fagots crept a viper which fastened on Paul’s 
hand. The natives expected him to fall 
dead; but he shook it off and received no 
harm. ‘Thereupon they whispered among 
themselves, ‘‘ He is a god!”’ 

The fury of the simoon was now spent; 
but we remained three months in the island 
waiting for the Castor and Pollux, a corn- 
ship which lay weather-bound in the harbor, 
to take us off. 

Feb. 8, A.D. 61. Sailed on the Castor and 
Pollux. 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 145 


Feb. 9. Touched at Syracuse: waited 
three days for a more favorable wind. 

Feb.13. Made eighty miles in a southerly 
breeze and touched at Rhegium. One day. 

Feb. 14. Made Puteoli, the chief port of 
Italy, and disembarked. Met some of the 
brethren. ‘T'arried seven days. Then on, 
afoot, toward Rome, a distance of a hundred 
and forty miles. 


So runs the Log of this eventful voyage, 
consuming half a year. Its one outstanding 
lesson is the serene faith of Paul. While the 
storm was raging he slept soundly on three 
pulows; namely, the wisdom and power and 
goodness of God. 

Ridge of the mountain wave, lower thy crest! 
Wail of Euroclydon, be thou at rest! 


Sorrow can never be, darkness must fly, 
When saith the Light of light, ‘‘ Peace, it is I!’’ 


Observe, First, Paul ‘‘believed God.’’ 
Having certain promises, he took them at 
their face value. Thus it is written, ‘‘He 
that cometh to God must believe that he is, 
and that he is the rewarder of them that 
diligently seek him.”’ 


146 ‘LIFE AND LETTERS OF SI-yPAUL 


Second, he ‘‘practised the divine pres- 
ence.’’ On the darkest night of the simoon 
he had a most hopeful vision of which he 
says, ‘‘The Lord stood by me.’’ Itis always 
So with those who live on speaking terms 
with God. 

Third, his faith was buttressed by com- 
mon sense. Notwithstanding his confidence 
that all aboard were to be saved, he assured 
‘the captain that. if the crew was not pre- 
vented from seizing the boats all would be 
lost. The divine sovereignty does not inter- 
fere with the freedom of the human will. 

Fourth, his assurance was coupled with 
praise. He ‘‘said grace”’ over the frugal 
meal on the tossing ship. During all those 
frightful ‘‘fourteen days in Adria’’ he never 
lost confidence in the Lord’s faithfulness. 
it is thus that God giveth his beloved songs 
in the night. 

It is in this spirit that Paul writes to his 
Philippian friends: ‘‘Rejoice in the Lord 
alway: and again I say, Rejoice. ... Be 
careful for nothing; but in everything by 
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 
let your requests be made known unto God.’’ 


XX 


AT ROME 


Acts 28:15-31 


It was early spring of the year 61 when 
the Castor and Pollux came sailing up 
through the beautiful Bay of Naples to Pu- 
teoli. The crew and passengers debarked; 
and presently Paul and his fellow-prisoners 
set out for their destination along Appia 
Via. At villages on the way Paul was met 
by many brethren; wherefore, he says, ‘‘we 
thanked God and took courage.’’ So at 
length he reached Rome, a prisoner in bonds. 

His life-long dream was realized at last: 
‘‘T must see Rome!’’ But why this consum- 
ing desire ? 

Rome was well worth seeing, no doubt, 
with its palaces and temples, its Forum and 
Colosseum and triumphal arches. ‘‘See 
Rome and die,’’ was one of the familiar 
proverbs of those days. It was the metrop- 

147 


148 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


olis of the world; all great enterprises cen- 
tered there. No tourist, even nowadays, is 
content until, with ‘*‘ Baedeker’’ in hand, he 
visits Rome; though its ancient splendors 
are now reduced to a lamentable mass of 
ruins. 7 

But Paul’s desire reached further and 
went deeper than this. Though a great trav- 
eller, he had no thought of sight-seeing. As 
an ‘‘ambassador of Christ’’ he longed to wit- 
ness far and wide for him. ‘To stand in the 
Forum and preach the gospel there at the 
confluence of the nations would be to send 
his voice ringing to the uttermost parts of 
the earth. A lofty ambition, indeed! ‘This 
man was never content with mediocrity. He 
had ‘‘hitched his wagon to a star.”’ 

It would appear that his intention of vis- 
iting Rome was conceived at the very begin- 
ning of his Christian life. 

The dream of his boyhood had been to be- 
come arabbi. With that in view he left his 
home in Tarsus and studied in the University 
of Jerusalem, at the feet of the learned Ga- 
maliel, who was known as ‘‘the Flower of 
the Law.’’ Soon after his graduation with 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 149 


high honors he was chosen a member of the 
Sanhedrin, which was the Supreme Court of 
the Jews. A splendid outlook was before 
him. Presently he was made Chief Inquis- 
itor of that distinguished body, and was 
placed under a special commission to root 
out ‘‘the heresy of the Nazarenes.’’ It was 
while thus engaged that he made his notable 
journey to Damascus ‘‘ breathing out slaugh- 
ter’’ against the followers of Christ. 

Then came the revolutionary change. In 
the light that shone from heaven, ‘‘above the 
brightness of the sun,’’ his plans and pur- 
poses were instantly turned upside down. 
He fell to the earth a rabbi; he rose up a 
Christian. Hearing a voice say, ‘‘Il am 
Jesus,’’ his immediate answer was, ‘‘What 
wilt thou have me to do?’’ The reply was, 
‘*T will send thee far hence unto the Gen- 
tiles’’; in other words, to all people. That 
meant sooner or later to Rome; for Rome 
was colluvies gentium, the center of the civ- 
ized world of those days. 

From that time forward he was unreserv- 
edly committed to the service of Christ. 
Forsaken by former friends, with all ave- 


150 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


nues of preferment blocked up, he hewed 
to the line which had been divinely marked 
out for him. Listen to this: ‘‘I count all 
things but loss for the excellency of the 
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; ... 
that I may know him and the power of his 
resurrection and the fellowship of his suffer- 
ings. .. . I count not myself to have appre- 
hended; but this one thing I do, forgetting 
those things which are behind, and reaching 
forth unto those things which are before, I 
press toward the mark for the prize of the 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”’ 

Did the Lord approve of his desire to see 
Rome? Paul affirms that his purpose was 
‘‘according to the will of God.’’ He says 
repeatedly that ‘‘the Lord stood by him.’’ 
If ever there was a Christian who felt him- 
self a living part of the divine plan and de- 
sired, above all, to hold himself in line with 
the divine will, it was this man. 

On the day when he first saw Jesus he put 
himself so wholly and implicitly under his 
control that looking back, years afterward, 
he could say, ‘‘I have not been disobedient 
unto the heavenly vision.’’ His Lord’s pur- 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS Vil 


pose was his ultimate goal, and he followed 
it as a sailor heeds the polar star. Once 
when he essayed to go into Bithynia he de- 
sisted, as he says, because ‘‘the Spirit suf- 
fered him not.’’ In writing to the Chris- 
tians at Rome he says, ‘‘Oftentimes I pur- 
posed to come unto you, and was hindered.”’ 
(Rom. 1:13.) Nevertheless he was not 
discouraged. He reckoned Rome as a 
necessary factor in the finishing of his 
course. 

He never for a moment gave up his pur- 
pose and expectation. It was nineteen years 
after his conversion, at the conclusion of his 
evangelistic campaign in Ephesus when the 
converts made a great bonfire of their cabal- 
istic books, that he ‘‘purposed in spirit’’ to 
extend his campaign through Macedonia and 
Achaia and thence to Jerusalem, saying, 
‘*After that, I must see Rome!”’ 

Two years subsequently he wrote his Kpis- 
tle to the Romans, reassuring them of his 
purpose to visit them. He begins by saying, 
‘‘God is my witness, whom I serve with my 
spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without 
ceasing I make mention of you always in my 


152 “LIRR AND LEDTERSION S haPAUL 


prayers; making request, if by any means 
now at length I might have a prosperous 
journey by the will of God to come unto you. 
For I long to see you, that I may impart unto 
you some spiritual gifts, to the end ye may 
be established; that is, that I may be com- 
forted together with you by the mutual faith 
both of you and me.’’ And in closing he 
pathetically urges them to unite their 
prayers with his to that end: ‘‘I beseech 
you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s 
sake and for the love of the Spirit, that ye 
strive together with me in your prayers, that 
I may be delivered from them that do not 
believe, that I may come to you with Joy by 
the w ill of God.”’ 

But he was strangely hindered in the ac- 
complishment of his desire. To use his own 
words, ‘‘I oftentimes purposed, and was hin- 
dered hitherto.’’ And again, ‘‘Having a 
ereat desire these many years to come unto 
you.”’ 

In the year 47 he set out on a missionary 
journey with his face toward the west. He 
probably hoped then to reach the Imperial 
City; but, having preached in many places, 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 153 


he came to Cilicia and was there constrained 
to turn back. 

In the year 50 he set out again toward 
the west. On this occasion he crossed the 
Hellespont and canvassed many of the im- 
portant cities of Europe until he reached 
Corinth; and again he was obliged to turn 
back. 

In the year 53 he started on his third mis- 
sionary journey in the direction of Rome. 
It was now sixteen years since his conver- 
sion, and he was apparently no nearer the 
fulfilment of his heart’s desire. Again he 
reached Corinth; but there were imperative 
reasons for his being at Jerusalem in time 
for the Feast of Pentecost; wherefore once 
more he retraced his steps. 

But ‘the that believeth shall not make 
haste.’’ Paul’s patience of hope was sure 
to be rewarded. He could afford to wait, 
because, as he says, he ‘‘believed God.”’ 

At length his desire was realized, but in a 
singular way. ‘‘Man proposes; God dis- 
poses.’? He reached Rome a prisoner in 
bonds. At once he was taken to the Pre- 
torian Camp; where, though in close custody 


154 LIFE AND’LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


for two years, he was permitted to see his 
friends. He conferred with the Jews by ap- 
pointment, seeking in vain to persuade them 
that ‘‘this Jesus is the Christ.’’ He held 
frequent converse with the Christians of the 
Roman church, and received many visitors 
who desired to know about ‘‘The Way.’’ 

Time passed, and Paul was again cast into 
prison: this time in the Mammertine Jail. 
But ‘‘stone walls do not a prison make nor 
iron bars a cage.’’ He was not idle in that 
noisome place: and ‘‘the word of God is not 
bound.’’ Some of Paul’s most important 
letters were written there. Old and feeble, 
he could not be put down. His irrepressi- 
ble zeal in the service of his Lord reminds 
us of what an old poet says: 


‘‘Tumble me down, and I will sit 
Exultant on my ruins yet!’’ 


His keen soul caught the presentiment of 
the coming end, his ear the footfall of the 
executioner ringing down the corridor of the 
jail. But he was not terrified. ‘‘I am now 
ready to be offered and the time of my de- 
parture is at hand,’’ he wrote to Timothy, 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS LoS 


his spiritual son and successor in the pastor- 
ate of the Ephesian church. ‘‘I have fought 
a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith. Henceforth there is 
laid up for me a crown of righteousness 
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
give me at that day. Grace be with you. 
Amen.”’ 

They led him to the headsman’s block, 
outside the walls. A blow of the gleaming 
axe; and the great apostle was at home with 
God. 

What is the lesson? 

The splendor of a great ambition. 

Paul was not content with anything less 
than the noblest and best. For one thing, 
he wanted to make the most of himself; and 
Rome was needed for the rounding out of 
his life. 

I like the prayer of the humble cobbler 
who used to ask every day, ‘‘ Lord, give me a 
good opinion of myself’’; but such a prayer 
is vain without something worth while be- 
hind it. 

This is a responsibility which ought to 
rest upon the conscience of every one. The 


156. LIFE AND GE GIERS OF ish, PAUL 


world would be a different world but for its 
‘‘mute inglorious Miltons.’’ The Church 
would long ago have conquered the world 
were it not that so many are Satisfied with 
being minimum Christians, inactive and in- 
different, imbedded like flies in amber. 
Who shall number the potential Lincolns 
who, for lack of ambition, are rail-splitters 
all their lives? Wherefore, ‘‘stir up the 
eift that is in thee.’’ There is fire enough 
in the embers of every Christian life if only 
it were fanned into a flame. No minister is 
at liberty to be satisfied with a small parish 
if his gifts and calling are adequate to the 
responsibilities of a larger one. Every man 
is under bonds to be somebody, not for the 
sake of getting into the lhmelight but in 
order that he may make his life tell. Our 
light was not kindled to be hid under a 
bushel, but to shine so that ‘‘all that are in 
the house’’ may take knowledge of it. 

But Paul was thinking less of being some- 
body than of doing something for somebody. 
The chain on his right hand bound him to 
Christ. With what joyous pride he speaks 
of himself as ‘‘the prisoner of Christ!’ 


PAUL’S CAMPAIGNS 157 


There was no reserve in his consecration: 
‘*'The love cf Christ constraineth me!’’ But 
his service to Christ was expressed in 
ministry to others; as Christ himself had 
said, ‘‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
of the least of these my brethren ye have 
done it unto Me.” 

The same chain that bound Paul to his 
Lord bound him to one of the Roman guards;. 
and he preached the Gospel to that man. 
Not a few of his spiritual children were thus 
begotten in his bonds. ‘‘They that are of 
Ceesar’s household salute you.’’ No pent-up 
Utica confined his influence. The reason 
why he longed to visit Rome was because it 
was a coign of vantage from which to sound 
forth the riches of grace. There were two 
millions of people there, all immortal souls! 
From there he must send his message, 
‘*This Jesus is the Christ,’’ ringing through 
the world and down the ages. Nothing less 
would satisfy him. ‘T'o reach Rome would 
thus be to finish his course with joy. 

The world has been moving since Paul 
came sailing into Puteoli on the “‘Castor and 
Polluz.’’ Not long ago I followed in his 


158 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


very footsteps along the Appian Way. The 
dusk was falling; the shadows of the Faler- 
nian Hills lay over the plain, and: in the dis- 
tance the dome of St. Peter’s was dimly out- 
lined against the sky. Nero no longer dwelt 
in his blood-stained quarters on the Pala- 
tine. In the cottages by the roadside were 
people sitting in vine-covered porches with 
none to molest or make them afraid. The 
Gospel has not been shining for naught 
these nineteen hundred years. And what- 
ever has been accomplished for the better- 
ment of the world has been through the in- 
strumentality of men who like Paul were 
constrained to service ‘‘by the will of God.’’ 

Wherefore let us be our best and do our 
utmost for Him who has redeemed us by 
his precious blood. We are all too easily 
satisfied. The words with which William 
Carey closed his great sermon inaugurating 
the modern campaign of Missions strike an 
inspiring note for all earnest souls: ‘“‘Let 
us undertake great things for God, and eg- 
pect great things from him.’’ 


PART LIT 
PAUL’S COMPANIONS 


159 


PREFACH 


I HAVE been reading ‘*‘Pilgrim’s Prog- 
ress’’ again, and wondering if the Bedford 
tinker borrowed his dramatis persone 
from the Book of Acts... In any case they 
look alike, as we shall see. Of course Paul 
leads the way: 

“Then I saw that Christian kept on before, who had 
no more talk but with himself, and that sometimes 
sighingly and sometimes comfortably; also that he 


would be often reading in the roll which one of the 
Shining Ones gave him.” 


160 


I 
BARNABAS: “A GOOD MAN’”’ 


161 


TuEN said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over 
a very wide field, “Do you see yonder wicket-gate?” 
The man said, “No.” Then said the other, “Do you 
see yonder shining light?” He said, “I think I do.” 
Then said Evangelist, “Keep that light in your eye.” 


162 


Paul's Companions 


{ 
BARNABAS: “A GOOD MAN” 


THE name means ‘‘son of consolation,’’ by 
which we are given to understand that this 
man had a warm heart and an open hand. 
Here are some of the things we know about 
him. 


I. He Was A COMMUNIST 


The first reference to him is in Acts 4: 
Bee tts | 


“And the multitude of them that believed were of 
one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them 
that aught of the things which he possessed was his 
own; but they had all things common. And with 
great power gave the apostles witness of the resur- 
rection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon 
them all. Neither was there any among them that 
lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or 
houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things 
that were sold and laid them down at the apostles’ 
feet: and distribution was made unto every man 


163 


lot. LIF ECAN DALE TT DRS sO Sia Pacis 


according as he had need. And Joses. who by the 
apostles was surnamed Barnabas. (which is, being in- 
terpreted, the son of consolation), a Levite, and of 
the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and 
brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” 


The incident referred to occurred A. D. 
30, just after the arrest of Peter and John 
for the healing of the cripple at the Gate 
Beautiful. The two disciples were tried be- 
fore the Sanhedrin, where a Scotch verdict 
was rendered, ‘‘ Innocent; but don’t repeat 
it.’ On being let go ‘they went to their 
own company,’’ where a praise meeting was 
held: and after that the ‘‘community’’ was 
organized. It was a foregleam of Utopia as 
it will be realized in the Golden Age. 

One of the important members of this 
community was Barnabas; who, it appears, 
(1) was a native of Cyprus, (2) whose 
former name was Joses, (3) a man of: 
wealth, possessed of ‘‘property,’’ (4) of in- 
fluence also as a Levite, (5) and a conspicu- 
ous leader in this movement toward a com- 
munity of goods. 

It would be a serious mistake, however, to 
confuse this with what is known as Com- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 165 


munism in our time. There are some vital 
points of difference. (1) To begin with, it 
was entirely voluntary. There was no de- 
nial of the rights of property, no confisca- 
tion, no attempt to subvert the social order 
by insisting that ‘‘what’s yours is mine and 
what’s mine’s my own,’’ but a cheerful sur- 
render of the possessions of each for the 
benefit of all. (2) Moreover, the distribu- 
tion of the common fund was not general, 
but ‘‘unto every man according as he had 
need.’’ In other words it was a benevolent 
fund. The church members in Jerusalem 
were a feeble folk like the conies, and many 
of them needed help. (3) Still further, it 
was a purely religious affair. The motive 
of the disciples was ‘‘to do good and to com- 
municate,’’ ‘especially unto them who are 
of the household of faith.’’ They were actu- 
ated by the Christian principle of steward- 
ship. They believed that their possessions, 
whether much or little, were held in trust 
until called for. The time is coming when 
all the Lord’s talents will thus be placed at 
his command: then poverty with its attend- 
ant miseries will be a nightmare of the past 


166, LIFE ANDIVETTERS OF SEA PAUL 


and the earth will be full of the glory of the 
Lord as the waters cover the sea. 

So then the framing of this community 
in the early Church was not a temporary 
venture into cloudland, but a prophecy of 
the Millennium. It was like a sun-spot on 
the mountains, painted by the light shining 
through a rift of overhanging clouds, as a 
forecast of the splendor of a cloudless day. 
It was the setting in motion of great prin- 
ciples which, murmuring lke a subterra- 
nean river, are destined to reappear and 
assert themselves in the ultimate Common- 
wealth of God. 

One of the foremost of these Christian 
communists was Barnabas. He practised 
‘‘the mind that was in Christ Jesus,’’? who 
‘‘came not to be ministered unto but to min- 
ister’’ and ‘‘emptied himself’’ for us. He 
did not offer a tithe but ten tithes of all that 
he possessed, in recognition of the fact. that 
he held nothing as his own but everything 
in trust until called for. It is only when a 
Christian thus realizes his stewardship that 
he reaches his full recompense in the saying 
that is written, ‘‘All things are yours; 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 167 


whether . . . the world or life or death or 
things present or things to come: all are 
yours; and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is 
God’s.”’ 


II. A GENTLE-MAN 


The next mention of Barnabas is ten years 
afterward in connection with Paul’s first 
visit to Jerusalem after his conversion. The 
interval between his conversion (A.D. 37) 
and this visit (A.D. 40) had been passed by 
Paul in Arabia (Gal. 1:17,18) where, among 
the solitudes, he pursued his theological 
course in preparation for his appointed 
work. Then he went up to Jerusalem ready 
for business; but a cold welcome awaited 
him. The Christians there could not forget 
how, as Chief Inquisitor of the Sanhedrin, 
he had ‘‘breathed out threatenings and 
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.’’ 
The record is on this wise: 


“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem he assayed 
to join himself to the disciples: but they were all 
afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 
But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the 
apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the 


1687 EIFRANDILEDVERS OR Say PAUI 


Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and 
how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name 
of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going 
out at Jerusalem.” Acts 9: 26-28. 


A rare friend was Barnabas, a true ‘‘son 
of consolation.’’ How many there are who 
look with suspicion on sinners converted 
from the error of their ways. Paul was 
truly like a man who has served his term in 
Sing Sing; but blessed be Barnabas, he was 
ready to give him the glad hand and another 
chance. He had two things to say for the 
reformed man; one was that ‘‘he had seen 
_ the Lord in the way,’’ and the other was that 
immediately after his conversion he had 
gone into Damascus and ‘‘preached boldly 
in the name of Jesus’”’ at peril of his life. 
This was enough; Paul was received into the 
fellowship of the disciples and thereafter 
was with them, ‘‘coming in and going out,”’ 
preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

It is related that when John Huss of Bo- 
hemia was on his way to prison, wearing a 
yellow cap covered with devils and hooted 
at by the jostling crowd, he felt a friendly 
hand finding its way to his. Not a word was 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 169 


spoken; but the night before his execution 
the martyr wrote, ‘‘God bless John of Chlum 
for that right hand of his!’? Such kindness 
is like a cup of cold water to thirsty lips; 
and ‘‘it shall in no wise lose its reward.’’ 


Til. An EVANGELIST 


The next reference to Barnabas is three 
years later (A. D. 43). A revival was going 
on at Antioch. It originated with certain of 
those who, being ‘‘scattered abroad upon the 
persecution that arose about Stephen”’ 
(A.D. 37), came to Antioch and brought the 
Gospel with them: ‘‘and a great number be- 
lieved and turned unto the Lord.’’ The work 
assumed such dimensions that a leader was 
required. Who should it be? 


“Then tidings of these things came unto the ears 
of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent 
forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. 
Who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, 
was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of 
heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a 
good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: 
and much people was added unto the Lord.” Acts 
11; 22-24. j 


170 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


And still the blessed work went on. <An- 
other helper was needed. Barnabas cast 
about for the right man. John and Peter 
and James and the other apostles were not 
available, being engaged in important fields. 
It occurred to him that Paul might be the 
very one; but where was he? 


“Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek 
Saul, and when he had found him he brought him unto 
Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they 
assembled themselves with the church and taught 
much people. And the disciples were called Chris- 
tians first in Antioch.” Acts 11: 25, 26. 


So began the sweet fellowship of these two 
yokefellows which (with a single interrup- 
tion to be noted hereafter) continued for a 
period of nearly twenty years. Next to the 
friendship of Christ himself there is none 
like that of a Christian yokefellow. This is 
the order of service: the Seventy were sent 
out two by two. For so it is written: ‘‘Two 
are better than one, . . . for if they fall, 
the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to 
him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath 
not another to help him up.”’ A pair of 
Christian friends, sympathizing with each 

10 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS ul 


other in their great purpose, are like moun- 
tain-climbers roped together and urging 
their way toward the top. 


“T want a warm and constant friend 
To soothe my adverse hour, 
Who ne’er to flatter will descend, 
Nor bow the knee to power; 
A friend to chide me when I’m wrong, 
My inmost soul to see; 
And that my friendship be as strong 
To him as his to me.” 


IV. A MISSIONARY 


It is now three years later (a.p. 46). In 
the meantime the work of Paul and Bar- 
nabas at Antioch had been briefly inter- 
rupted by news that the members of the 
mother church in Jerusalem were suffering 
from famine; whereupon a collection was 
taken among these Gentile Christians for 
their relief and the two evangelists went up 
to Jerusalem to deliver it. On returning to 
Antioch a meeting was held which marked 
the beginning of the great propaganda for 
the conversion of the world. 


172 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch 
certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and 
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, 
and Manaen which had been brought up with Herod 
the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, 
and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barna- 
bas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 
them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and 
laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” 
Acts 138: 1-8. 


In this divine call we find the rationale 
of an enterprise which was destined to 
change the currents and countercurrents of 
all history and set them flowing, just in the 
measure of Christian faithfulness, toward 
the Golden Age. 

Observe, first, these men were ‘‘separated 
to go.’’ All followers of Christ are required 
to ‘‘go’’ in like manner, and to keep going 
as witnesses and evangelists of Christ; but 
all are not separated for work in ‘‘the re- 
gions beyond’’ like these men. 

Second, they were not only ‘‘separated,”’ 
and joined together, but equipped for their 
work. They had faith, courage and the 
charismata, or special gifts of the Spirit for 
the working of ‘‘signs and wonders,’’ to but- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 173 


tress their message. Indeed they had every- 
thing but money. Of this Barnabas had 
none, because he had previously given up all 
his possessions for the relief of needy 
Christians; and as for Paul, he had un- 
doubtedly been ostracised and stripped of 
his birthright when he accepted Christ 
(Phil. 4:16-18). Thus they went forth, ac- 
cording to the Master’s injunction, without 
serip or money in their purse, but strong in 
faith and in the power of the Spirit of God. 


V. A PACIFIST 


The first missionary journey was over and 
the two yokefellows had returned to Antioch 
with a good report as to the conquests of 
faith. But there was a disturbance in the 
church owing to the fact that certain of the 
Jewish converts were insisting that the Gen- 
tiles must not be received into the church 
without conforming to the rites and cere- 
monies of the Levitical law. A Council was 
called to meet at Jerusalem for the settle- 
ment of the question: and Paul and Barna- 
bas went up. They both addressed the Coun- 


174 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


cil in the interests of peace, and an amicable 
adjustment was reached, in which, without 
offending the Jews, the rights of the Gen- 
tiles were fully vindicated. 


“And they wrote letters by them after this manner: 
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting 
unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in An- 
tioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have 
heard that certain which went out from us have 
troubled you with words, subverting your souls, say- 
ing, Ye must be circumcised and keep the law; to 
whom we gave no such commandment: it seemed 
good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to 
send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas 
and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 15:23-26. 


By this we are advised that Barnabas was 
not only in hearty accord with Paul as to 
the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel but 
that he was ireniec in disposition and broad- 
minded enough to ‘‘differ and keep sweet.’’ 


VI. A VACILLATOR 


The deliverance of the Council was re- 
ceived with joy by the Gentile converts of 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS WS 


Antioch. But trouble was brewing. In 
Paul’s letter to the Galatians, written long 
afterward, he refers to it in these words: 


“But when Peter was come to Antioch I withstood 
him to the face, because he was to be blamed, for 
before that certain came from James, he did eat with 
the Gentiles; but when they were come, he withdrew 
and separated himself, fearing them which were of 
the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled like- 
wise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was 
carried away with their dissimulation.” Gal. 2: 
11-13. 


The fact is that Peter, with all nis splen- 
did qualities, was the most unstable of the 
apostles. So long as nobody objected he was 
quite happy in the society of the Gentile 
Christians, but when those members of the 
mother church came down from Jerusalem 
he was ready to readjust his sails to the 
shifting wind. And Barnabas, alas! went 
with him. This was more than the brave, 
catholic soul of Paul could stand for. He 
was no waverer, ‘‘driven with the wind and 
tossed.’’ It is not said, however, that he 
withstood Barnabas to the face, but only 
Peter, because of his ‘‘dissimulation.’’ Bar- 


176.) LIFE AND/ LET LERS- OR sSEsPAUL 


nabas was simply ‘‘led away,’’ being weak; 
but weakness is a sin. A follower of Christ 
should be strong enough to brace himself 
against his principles and let the crowd 
sweep by. 


VII. A Man Wirn A TEMPER 


The time had now come (A.D. 51) to re- 
sume the missionary journeys. The wander- 
lust was upon Paul; and he proposed to 
Barnabas, ‘*‘Let us go again and visit our 
brethren in every city where we have 
preached the word of the Lord and see how 
they do.’’ But at this point a serious differ- 
ence arose between them, for 


“Barnabas determined to take with them John, 
whose surname was Mark: but Paul thought not good 
to take him with them, who departed from them from 
Pamphylia and went not with them to the work. And 
the contention was so sharp between them that they 
departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas 
took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus.” Acts 15: 37-89. 


The ‘‘sharpness”’ of this contention is in- 
dicated by the Greek word ‘‘paroxysm.”’ 
When two strong tempers come into col- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS Vi 


lision there is bound to be something of the 
sort unless the grace of God prevents it. 

In this case both men were right. The 
fact was that on the former journey John 
Mark had weakened in the face of danger 
and turned back: but it was also a fact that 
he had recovered his courage and was pre- 
pared to resume the work. Paul and Barna- 
bas, however, were too hot to be reconciled. 
The time would come long afterward (Col. 
4:10), but not yet, so they parted company. 
Barnabas took his nephew John Mark and 
sailed away to Cyprus, his former home, 
while Paul set out with a new companion in 
another direction, each going his own way. 


VEL °*A .Goop,; MAN?’ 


Tt is comforting for us to know that Bar- 
nabas was not perfect. Nobody is. ‘*We’re 
all John Thomson’s bairns.’’ There never 
has lived but one in this world of ours of 
whom it could be said, ‘‘He brought the 
bottom of his life up to the top of his life.”’ 
He is our Exemplar. We make a grave mis- 
take when we imitate anybody but Christ. 


178 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


The Bible is our copy book in which the 
Teacher writes: ‘‘If any man will come after 
me, let him deny himself and take up his 
cross and follow me.’’ We begin by writing 
a line as nearly as possible ike him. Then 
instead of looking at the Master’s lne we 
are naturally disposed to copy our own and 
to keep on doing so. The result is that 
whereas our handwriting should constantly 
improve in growing more like His, it is 
likely to go from bad to worse by the re- 
peating of our own faults. Where is the 
remedy? Get back to the original copy! 
That is, ‘‘Remember the words of the Lord 
Jesus, how he said — ”’ 

The secret of a happy and useful life is 
in keeping our eyes on Him who is the 
author and finisher of our faith. So shall 
we finally arrive at ‘‘the measure of the 
stature of the fulness of Christ.”’ 


IT 


JOHN MARK: THE YOUTH 
WHO FLINCHED 


179 


Now I saw that the pilgrims came to a place 
where stood an old monument, hard by the highway- 
side, at the sight of which they were both concerned 
because of the strangeness of the form thereof; for 
-it seemed to them as if it had been a woman trans- 
formed into the shape of a pillar. Here they stood 
looking and looking upon it, but could not for a time 
tell what they should make thereof. At last Hopeful 
espied, written above the head thereof, a writing in an 
unusual hand; but he, being no scholar, called to 
Christian (for he was learned) to see if he could pick 
out the meaning: so he came, and after a little lay- 
ing of letters together, he found the same to be this, 
“Remember Lot’s wife.” 


180 


Il 


oy) EL ING Vie Peete Leta Haney, (UD EL. 
WHO FLINCHED 


THIS young man was the son of the widow 
Mary of Jerusalem, who, we are given to un- 
derstand, was a woman of wealth and influ- 
ence. At her home the disciples were 
accustomed to meet in ‘‘a large upper room’’ 
which was set apart for their use. 

The first we hear of him is in the year 30, 
the memorable year of the crucifixion. It 
was on an April night, when Christ was in 
the Garden of Gethsemane, that, at the ap- 
pearance of the Roman guard, the disciples 
‘Call forsook him and fled.’’ The timid boy, 
who was with him, would fain have followed 
his Master but, on being recognized, he also 
took to his heels and left his linen garment 
behind him. He tells the story himself, 
though for obvious reasons he does not men- 
tion his name. Mark 14: 951, 92. 


181 


(82°, LIFE AND LEVERS @ Ha iear Ae 


The next time we hear of him is about 
fourteen years later: a.p. 44. The disciples 
are again assembled in the upper room. 
Persecution has broken out; James the be- 
loved pastor of the Jerusalem church has 
been slain with the sword and Peter 1s lan- 
eulshing in prison. The little band of 
believers —a feeble folk lke the conies — 
have come together to unite their prayers 
for his deliverance. The doors are shut and 
a maidservant named Rhoda is stationed at 
the outer wicket. While they are thus en- 
geaged there comes a sound of knocking; and 
their hearts are in their throats. Is another 
of their number to be haled to judgment ? 
But fear gives way to amazement when the 
portress comes running to say, ‘‘It is Peter 
that knocks.’’ On being admitted he tells 
this wonderful story: 

‘As I lay sleeping in my cell between two 
soldiers a hand was laid upon me; and open- 
ing my eyes I found the place filled with 
light. A voice said, ‘Arise up quickly!’ and 
straightway my chains fell off. ‘Gird thy-- 
self, bind on thy sandals and follow me!’ I 
obeyed like one in a dream; the great gates 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 183 


of the prison opened before me, as if their 
bolts were drawn by unseen hands, and pres- 
ently I stood under the open sky. Then 
whither should I go but to this upper room, 
where I knew you would be praying for 
me?’’ 

The widow’s son was among those who 
listened to that wonderful story; and with- 
out doubt he was deeply impressed by it. 
Possibly this was the beginning of the sin- 
eular friendship of the most headstrong of 
the disciples with this timorous young man. 
In any ease, since Peter speaks of ‘‘ Marcus 
my son,’’ it is probable that the latter was 
converted through him. 

The next mention of John Mark 1s in the 
following year, A.D. 45, when a great enter- 
prise was on foot. Paul and Barnabas, at 
Antioch in Syria, were planning a mission- 
ary tour. A ¢ourier or ‘‘minister’’ was 
needed; and John Mark volunteered to ac- 
company them. The flush of enthusiasm 
was upon him. He was at the age when one 
builds castles in the air. He dreamed 
dreams and saw visions of splendid success. 
And thus they sailed for the island of Cy- 


184 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


prus, followed by the benediction of the 
little band of believers, to preach the un- 
searchable riches of Christ. On landing at 
Salamis they began their work, finding a 
ready audience in the synagogue of the 
Jews. Thence passing through the island 
westward, preaching from village to village, 
they came to Paphos, where they delivered 
their message under the shadow of the 
famous temple of Aphrodite. There were 
many conversions; and all went well until 
they were opposed by Elymas the sorcerer ; 
whom Paul, being filled with the Holy Ghost, 
rebuked and lo, a sudden blindness fell upon 
him. All this was caleulated to impress the 
young man. For nothing succeeds like suc- 
cess. No doubt he said within himself, ‘‘I 
am glad I came on this mission; it is a won- 
derful work and the Lord is manifestly with 
usiee 

It was now decided to earry the gospel 
over into Asia Minor. <A short sail brought 
them to the coasts of Pamphylia. It was 
an inhospitable country, occupied by semi- 
barbarians. The missionaries proposed to 
push into the interior and preach the gospel 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS _ 185 


“to them that were afar off.’’ John Mark 
looked on the high mountains, in whose fast- 
nesses were unknown possibilities of danger, 
and felt his heart sinking within him. A 
ship was in the harbor, bound for home. He 
bade farewell to Paul and Barnabas, paid 
his passage and returned to Jerusalem. 
Was this because he was homesick? If so, 
it was ‘‘a fault that leaned to virtue’s side.’’ 
A leaf out of my memory makes me slow to 
blame him. I left home at sixteen for Phil- 
lips Academy at Andover and looked on no 
kinsman’s face for two dreary years. Night 
after night I saw visions of the old home 
with the garden of old-fashioned flowers and 
the well (‘‘Oh, for a drink of water from the 
well beside the gate of Bethlehem!’’) and 
one face, the dearest face in all the world, 
bending over me. I wouldn’t give a brass 
ha’penny for a man who is ashamed of being 
led by his mother’s apron-strings. The 
Duke of Exeter, in the red fury of battle, 
came upon Suffolk, his wounded kinsman; 
whereupon he says, ‘‘All my mother came 
into mine eyes and gave me up to tears’’; 
and the king replies, ‘‘I blame you not; for 


1867) “LIFE ANDI LEADUERS OF SEA PAE 


hearing this I must perforce compound with 
mistful eyes, or they will issue too.’’ There’s 
no one like the Elect Lady; and ans, S no 
place hike home. 


“A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, 
Which, go through the world, you’ll not meet with 
elsewhere.” 


But however we may sympathize with the 
homesick youth, there is no pull-of the heart- 
strings to be compared with duty. Duty is 
the greatest word in the vocabulary of life. 
A man once came to Jesus, saying, ‘‘I will 
follow thee, but let me first go and bid them 
farewell which are at my home’’: to whom 
Jesus replied, ‘‘No man having put his hand 
to the plow and looking back is fit for the 
kingdom of God.’’ Is this a hard saying? 
It is a frank statement of the ethical im- 
perative. The same truth is affirmed with 
still greater emphasis in the Master’s words, 
‘*He that loveth father or mother more than 
me 1s not worthy of me.’’ 

It may not have been homesickness, how- 
ever, but a disbelief in foreign missions, that 
moved John Mark to retire from the field. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 187 


As a Jew he probably entertained the com- 
mon prejudice against the evangelization of 
the Gentiles. Thus far on their journey 
Paul and Barnabas had been seeking ‘‘the 
lost sheep of the house of Israel,’’ but now 
they were facing the regions beyond. The 
highlands of Pamphylia were peopled by 
‘‘dogs of Gentiles’’; and the young evan- 
gelist had no thought of sharing the benefits 
of the Gospel with these outcasts. 

And again who are we that we should 
blame him? Is there not a prejudice in 
many quarters to-day against the world- 
wide view of evangelization? Oh, for an 
enlargement of heart, that we might grasp 
the universal purpose of Christ! In follow- 
ing him shall we pause at the coasts of 
Pamphylia? Then must we needs part com- 
pany with him; for he ever goes to ‘‘the 
regions beyond.’’ Had he believed, as some 
of his people do, that charity not only ‘‘be- 
gins’’ but stays at home, he would never 
have come on his far mission to this world 
of ours, nor would he have put his Church 
under commission to go ‘‘into all the world 
and preach the Gospel to every creature,”’ 


188 LIFE AND LETTERS.OF 8ST. PAUL 


that is, to go and keep going, even ‘‘to the 
uttermost parts of the earth,’’ until the Good 
News shall have been proclaimed to the last 
man. 

The probability, however, is that it was 
sheer cowardice that made John Mark a 
quitter. The timidity of his boyhood had 
not left him. The highlands of Pamphylia 
were occupied by a dangerous people. This 
was the country that Paul referred to in his 
account of ‘‘perils of waters and perils of 
robbers.’’ It was the region of adventure; 
the wonderland of those times. There were 
rumors of banditti dwelling in the defiles of 
yonder cliffs. | 

I never knew a boy who would not whistle 
when he went through a dark wood to keep 
his courage up. We are afraid of things 
that are and of things that are not and of 
things that never will be. We are afraid 
of tomorrow, particularly if it happens to 
be Friday. We cover up our fear 
with such proverbial excuses as ‘‘Dis- 
cretion is the better part of valor,’’ and ‘‘A 
living dog is better than a dead lion,’’ and 
‘‘He who fights and runs away will live to 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 189 


fight another day’’; but there is no disguis- 
ing it. 

But fear cannot excuse cowardice. The 
heart must be steeled to meet difficulty and 
to confront the dangers of the Christian life. 
When. Peter says, ‘‘ Add to your faith vir- 
tue,’’ the word is virtus; that is, the courage 
of a true soldier. In like manner Paul says, 
“Quit you like men!”’ 

The story of John Mark thus far is a sad 
one; but happily there is a sequel. It was 
eight years after his defection at Perga that 
Paul and Barnabas were arranging for a 
second evangelistic tour ; and Barnabas, who 
was the uncle of John Mark, proposed to 
take him along: but Paul objected, saying, 
‘Tt is not well to take him who departed 
from us at Pamphylia.’’ The contention 
thereupon was so sharp that the two mis- 
sionaries ‘‘parted asunder.’’ Paul, taking 
Silas as his companion, went one way; and 
Barnabas with his nephew went another. Of 
the outcome of this latter tour we have no 
record; but let us hope the young man 
flinched from none of the dangers and hard- 
ships which confronted him. 


190 LIFE AND) LETTERS OF ST.;PAUL 


This was probably the case; for seven 
years later we hear of him as a companion 
of Peter in Babylon (1 Peter 5:13). It is 
pleasant to see the fearless old apostle and 
‘*Marcus his son’’ associated in this way. 
It means that John Mark had found himself 
at last; for Babylon was full of the threaten- 
ings of fierce heathen and fanatical Jews. 

Four years later (4.p. 64), we hear of him 
again: and now, significantly, he is with 
Paul in the Pretorian camp at Rome. Paul 
1s a prisoner; and Nero is on the throne! 
The man who could link his fortunes with 
Paul under such circumstances has surely 
gotten the better of his fears. 

The last mention of John Mark is two 
years after (A.D. 66). By this time he is a 
middle-aged man. He is now an associate 
of Timothy in the city of Ephesus. Paul is 
still a prisoner at Rome, but has been trans- 
ferred from the Pretorian camp to the 
Mammertine jail. Old and worn, friendless 
and lonely, shivering in his dungeon, he 
writes to Timothy, ‘‘Do thy diligence to 
come shortly unto me. Take Mark and bring 
him with thee; for he 1s profitable unto me 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 11 


bi 


for the mumustry.’? Elsewhere he speaks of 
him as ‘‘my fellow-laborer in the kingdom 
of Christ.’’ 

Here the record ends; but tradition says 
that John Mark became a foreign mission- 
ary, going with Peter to distant Rome and 
thence to Alexandria, where he suffered 
martyrdom by being dragged asunder with 
ropes. If he might return and reason with 
some of us who stand hesitating on the 
borders of Pamphylia, he would surely say, 
‘*Fall into line, O Christians, with the vast 
purpose of Christ! He died for all, even 
unto the uttermost; and ye are all fishers of 
men.’’ 

Now what is the lesson? There’s hope for 
a coward, hope for a deserter, hope for a 
backshder, if he will only return to Christ. 
Many aman can look back through the years 
to a day when he entered into a covenant of 
faithfulness which was broken at the 
borders of Pamphylia. If that means you, 
my friend, why not profit by the past? One 
of the secrets of success is to take advantage 
of our blunders. ‘‘We rise on stepping 
stones of our dead selves to nobler things.’’ 


192 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Pluck up courage! The Lord is always giv- 
ing us another chance: and cowards like us 
are the stuff that heroes are made of. 

A man on his way to the firing line was 
chided by a comrade, ‘‘ Your knees are shak- 
ing: you’re scared.’’ His answer was, ‘‘In- 
deed I am! If you were half as scared as 
I am you’d run.’’ But he didn’t run. He 
pressed on in spite of fears and won the vic- 
tory. In the memory of past misadventures 
let us face the dangers before us. All is not 
~ lost! The best is still possible so long as God 
stands by us. The fight is on; and we are 
called to the thin red line. This means that 
we must disencumber ourselves of all that 
hinders and face our responsibilities. It is 
no easy matter to live well. 

There are always lions in the way to the 
Celestial City. Christian in the ‘* Pilgrim’s 
Progress’? was frightened when he caught 
sight of them and heard their roaring. Bun- 
yan says, ‘‘The lions were chained, but he 
saw not the chains.’’ There’s the trouble 
with us. ‘‘Fear not the lions,’’ the porter 
called, ‘‘for they are chained and are placed 
there for trial of faith. . . . Keep in the 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 193 


midst of the path, and no hurt shall come 
unto thee.’’ 

In one of the battles of the Wilderness 
a young man was wounded unto death. His 
father was telegraphed for; and finding him 
in the hospital lying on his face with a gap- 
ing wound between his shoulders, he said 
quietly, ‘‘My son, that’s a bad place to be 
hit.’’ The youth turned with a painful ef- 
fort and, pointing to a wound in his breast, 
said, ‘‘Hather, here’s where the ball went 
in.’’? Blessed are those who bear ‘‘the marks 
of the Lord Jesus’’ in their breasts; who 
fight to win, and die, if need be, facing the 
foe. 

Let us therefore put on the whole armor 
of God; and above all forget not ‘‘the san- 
dals of preparation,’”’ the spiked sandals of 
a soldier who looks for a grapple at close 
quarters, that we may be ‘‘able to withstand 
in the evil day and, having done all, to 
stand!’’ The great promise is to him that 
is faithful unto death. ‘‘To him that over- 
cometh will I give . . . a white stone, and 
in the stone a new name written which no 
man knoweth save he that receiveth it.”’ 


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Iil 
SILAS: A SINGER 


195 


Now as they were going along and talking, they 
espied a boy feeding his father’s sheep. The boy was 
of a fresh and well-favored countenance; and as he 
sat by himself he sung. 

“Hark,” said Mr. Great-Heart, “to what the shep- 
herd’s boy saith.” 

So they hearkened and he said, 


“He that is down needs fear no fall; 
He that is low, no pride: 
He that is humble ever shall 
Have God to be his guide.” 


Then said the guide, “Do you hear him? I will 
dare to say this boy lives a merrier life, and wears 
more of that herb called heart’s-ease in his bosom, 
than he that is clad in silk and velvet.” 


196 


EE 
SILAS: A SINGER 


In the year 50 a Council was ealled to 
meet in Jerusalem for a final settlement of 
the question whether Gentile converts must 
submit to the requirement of the Ceremonial 
Law on becoming members of the church. 
It was maintained by the Gentile converts 
that salvation was conditioned solely on per- 
sonal faith in Christ, while high churchmen 
of Jewish birth and training insisted that 
compliance with the Levitical law was nec- 
essary to salvation. So warm had been the 
controversy that a serious breach was 
threatened; the crux of difference being as 
to the fundamental doctrine of Justification 
by Faith. The first address in the Council 
was made by Peter, who reminded his 
hearers of what had happened twenty years 
before, on the Day of Pentecost, when the 


197 


198 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Gospel door had been opened to all alike in 
the words, ‘‘T'he promise is unto you and to 
your children and to all that are afar off.’’ 
He was followed by Paul and Barnabas, 
who, having just returned from their first 
missionary journey, related what wonders 
of conversion had been wrought by the Holy 
Spirit ‘‘ without respect of persons.’’ Then 
James, the pastor of the mother church in 
Jerusalem, arose, and, though naturally pre- 
disposed to the Jewish side of the question, 
suggested such mutual concessions as would, 
without the sacrifice of any principle, satisfy 
both parties and enable them to work to- 
gether in peace. A resolution was drawn 
up accordingly, which is recorded 2psissima 
verba in Acts 15: 23-29. 

The first that we hear of Silas, or Sil- 
vanus, is in connection with this Council, 
where he is mentioned as one of ‘‘the chief 
men.’’ The Decree of the Council was re- 
garded as of sufficient importance to war- 
rant its immediate transmission to all the 
churches, an undertaking of no slight diffi- 
culty in view of the long distances and awk- 
ward means of communication in those days. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 199 


For this purpose a committee was ap- 
pointed, consisting of Paul, Barnabas, 
Jude and Silas. The appointment of Silas 
on a committee charged with duties so deli- 
cate and far-reaching would indicate that he 
was a tactful man of irenic disposition. In 
the course of the long and arduous journeys 
involved it is quite certain that Paul would 
become well enough acquainted with Silas 
to pass final judgment upon his character 
and efficiency as a fellow-servant of Christ. 

The work of the committee ended at An- 
tioch, which was then about to supplant Je- 
rusalem as the center of operations of the 
Christian Church. In that city the four 
commissioners tarried for about two years, 
preaching the Gospel with notable results. 
But Paul was restless; he was not cut out 
for a settled pastorate or for long continu- 
ance anywhere. The wanderlust returned 
to him and he resolved to set out upon an- 
other missionary journey. ‘‘Let us go 
again,’’ he said to Barnabas, ‘‘and visit our 
brethren in every city where we have 
preached the word of the Lord and see how 
they do.’’ 


200 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


A serious difference arose between the two 
missionaries then and there. Barnabas 
wished his nephew John Mark to accompany 
them; but Paul objected, because John 
Mark had failed them on their first journey, 
turning back at the foot of the Pamphylian 
hills. ‘‘The contention was sharp,’’ so sharp 
indeed that Paul and Barnabas ‘‘parted 
asunder,’”’ going their several ways. 

But Paul must have a yokefellow: he was 
the last man in the world to work alone. The 
needed yokefellow was at hand, one in whom 
he could place full confidence as ‘‘a faithful 
brother.’’ So it came to pass that Paul 
yoked up with Silas for his eventful second 
journey. They set out together from An- 
tioch with their faces toward the northwest, 
pausing at Derbe, and then on to Lystra, 
where they were joined by Timothy, who 
had taken the place of John Mark as courier 
and general helper. Then on to Iconium 
and Troas, where Paul had his vision of the 
man of Macedonia calling, ‘‘Come over and 
help us.”’ 

That meant Europe — the invasion of a 
new continent for Christ. A mighty enter- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 201 


prise! The Hellespont was crossed. The 
missionary group now consisted of Paul, 
Silas, Timothy and Luke. We know that 
Luke, ‘‘the beloved physician,’’ was with the 
company from now on, because he as the 
narrator now uses the pronoun ‘‘we’’ in- 
stead of ‘‘they.’’ On landing they at once 
pushed up the mountain road to Philippi, 
all girded for work. 

It is a proverb that wherever Paul goes 
you may look for a revival or a riot. At 
Philippi they had both. The first convert 
was lydia, ‘‘a seller of purple’’— who 
proved to be the ‘‘man of Macedonia’’ who 
had beckoned for help — followed by other 
trophies of grace, among whom was a slave- 
girl who had been used for divination. And 
then the trouble began. Her masters, ‘‘see- 
ing that their hope of gain was gone,”’ 
stirred up a commotion that landed.the mis- 
sionaries in jail after a severe scourging. 

It is easy to imagine them in the darkness, 
sore and weary, with chains upon their 
wrists. ‘‘It’s a cold and dreary place,’’ says 
Paul; ‘‘do you think a Psalm would help 
us?’’ Now Silas seems to have been a sing- 


202), “LIFE: ANDICETRUERS (ORCS ls PAUL 


ing evangelist, and like a Scotch precentor 
doubtless knew how to ‘“‘lift the tune.”’ 
Strange echoes awoke in that dismal jail. 
‘‘At midnight Paul and Silas sang praises 
unto God; and the prisoners heard them.’’ 
Perhaps they sang the 46th selection in the 
Jewish Psalter: 


“God is our refuge and our strength, 
in straits a present aid; 

Therefore, although the earth remove, 
we will not be afraid; . 

Though mountains in the sea be cast; 
though waves a roaring make 

And troubled be: yea, though the hills 
by swelling seas do shake. 

Our God, who is the Lord of hosts, 
is still upon our side; 

The God of Jacob our refuge 
forever will abide.” 


The hymn was over; the walls were shak- 
ing and falling; an earthquake! The pris- 
oners are loosed: and presently the fright- 
ened and convicted jailer is kneeling before 
them with the ery, ‘‘Sirs, what must I do 
to be saved ?’’ In the sequel you may find 
a marvellous demonstration of God’s in- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 203 


terest in the welfare of those who love 
him. 

From Philippi Paul and Silas travelled 
on to Thessalonica, where for three weeks 
they taught and preached, and then again 
came a riot and the missionaries were sent 
out ‘‘by night unto Berea.’’ Here was a 
haven of rest for a time, the word being 
eagerly received by the Bereans, but the 
coming of a deputation of hostile Jews from 
Thessalonica brought interruption and Paul 
again hurried away, leaving Silas and Tim- 
othy behind. On reaching Athens he sent 
posthaste for his inspiring co-workers. At 
Corinth Paul did his best work after Silas 
and Timothy rejoined him, and though Silas 
is not again mentioned by name in the Acts 
we can believe that he was standing by Paul 
in his trials and rejoicing with him in his 
victories for many a long day. 

Some years later, Peter closes his First 
General Epistle with the words, ‘‘By Sil- 
vanus, a faithful brother, I have briefly 
written, exhorting and testifying that this 
is the true grace of God.”’ (1 Pet. 5:12.) 
It thus appears that Silas was with Peter 


204). "LIFE AND PETERS OFisie PAUL 


during his closing years in distant Babylon, 
sharing persecution with him and ready, as 
a faithful brother, to serve as his amanu- 
ensis and possibly as his postman in convey- 
ing his inspired message to the saints that 
were scattered abroad. So farewell, Silas, 
faithful brother and true yokefellow in the 
gospel of the grace of God. 

His record is a brief one. It is evident 
that he did not covet the limelight. Why 
should he? ‘*‘The Master praises, what are 
men?’’ But his character is clearly outlined 
~ in certain lines. 

To begin with he is ealled ‘‘a prophet,’’ 
at that time meaning an efficient and author- 
itative teacher of the Word. It is safe to 
say that he found himself at home among 
the Bible-loving people of Berea who ‘‘re- 
ceived the word with all readiness of mind 
and searched the Scriptures daily whether 
those things were so.’’ 

He was also a gleaner. Observe how 
often, when Paul left one city for another 
further on, Silas is said to have remained 
behind ‘‘to gather up the loose grain of the 
harvest.’’? This indicates that he had the 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 205 


necessary qualifications for binding together 
the converts and establishing them in the 
most holy faith. 

But above everything else he was the 
Singing Pilgrim. As Sankey to Moody, as 
Alexander to Chapman, and as ‘‘ Rhody’’ to 
Billy Sunday, so was Silas to Paul; the joy- 
giver of the campaign, the singer of songs 
in the night. Blessed is the man who, in the 
name of the Lord, can give ‘‘beauty for 
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the 
garment of praise for the spirit of heavi- 
ness. ”’ 

Perhaps it was with that dark night in the 
Philippian jail in mind that Paul, in his 
later years, wrote to the chureh at Corinth, 
‘*T will sing with the spirit, and I will sing 
with the understanding also,’’ and again to 
the church at Ephesus, ‘‘ Be filled with the 
spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and 
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and mak- 
ing melody in your heart to the Lord,’’ and 
again to the church at Colosse, ‘‘Let the 
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis- 
dom, teaching and admonishing one another 
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”’ 


206 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


It is difficult to think of Paul himself as 
a singer; but he was wise enough to choose 
for his yokefellow one who could lend the 
wings of music to his work. Many a time 
have I heard Mr. Moody, at the close of a 
sermon, say ‘‘ Now, brother Sankey, give us 

song!’’ And the truth he had preached 
was thus mellowed and deepened and carried 
aloft in melody. ‘‘T'wo are better than one, 

for if they fall the one will hft up 
his Gage ey 

Two by two we toil in the harvest, two by 
two we journey through life. Whom shall 
I choose for my yokefellow? Silas, come 
hither! JI need thee when the shadows of 
Philippi gather about me; come, solace me 
with one of the songs of Zion. Let us go, 
through gloom and gladness, even to 
heaven’s gate with psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs! 

So did Christian and his comrade in Bun- 
yan’s allegory pass through danger after 
danger, singing as they went, until they were 
welcomed by angels at the gates of the Ce- 
lestial City; and this was their song: 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 207 


“Behold how fitly are the stages set 

For their relief that pilgrims are become, 

And how they us receive without one let 

That make the Other Life our mark and home! 
What novelties they have to us they give, 

That we, though pilgrims, joyful lives may live: 
They do upon us, too, such things bestow 

To show we pilgrims are, where’er we go.” 


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IV 


TIMOTHY: “THE GENTLE BOY 
OF LYSTRA”’ 


209 


Now, as Christian went on his way, he came to a 
little ascent which was cast up on purpose that pil- 
grims might see before them. “Up there, therefore, 
Christian went; and looking forward, he saw Faithful 
before him on his journey. Then said Christian aloud, 
“Ho, ho! so-ho! stay, and I will be your companion.” 


210 


IV 


TIMOTHY: “THE GENTLE BOY 
OF LYSTRA”’ 


THE ancient town of Lystra, now called 
Katyn-serai, lay in a verdant plain among 
the mountains of Lycaonia. It was chiefly 
famed for its worship of the pagan gods. 

Two dusty travellers, so ran-the legend, 
came to Lystra one evening and sought in 
vain for hospitality. The doors of the 
wealthy were closed against them. At length 
they applied at the humble home of Phile- 
mon and his wife Baucis, who gave them 
welcome and sheltered them for the night. 
At daybreak, when the aged couple awoke, 
their guests had disappeared: and _ the 
humble cottage had been transformed into a 
splendid temple with alabaster floors and 
golden pinnacles. Then they knew that their 
mysterious guests were Jupiter and Mer- 
eury, his messenger ; and thenceforth people 
came from near and far to see the miracu- 


211 


212 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


lous temple and pay their devotions to the 
Olympian gods. 

In the year 47 two travel-worn men came 
to Lystra with the Gospel message. They 
were Paul and Barnabas, on their first mis- 
slonary journey. There being no synagogue 
in the town, they preached in the open 
streets. Not much attention was given them 
until Paul healed a man who had been a 
hopeless cripple from his birth. On seeing 
this miracle the people concluded that the 
gods were again come down to them ‘‘in the 
likeness of men.’’ Barnabas, imposing in 
stature and of benignant presence, was nat- 
urally identified with Jupiter the Olympian 
father; while Paul, ‘‘the little Jew,’’ would 
of course be taken for Mercury. Garlands 
were brought and the priest of Jupiter ap- 
peared with beasts for sacrifice. Paul and 
his companion, who had been slow to recog- 
nize the frightful meaning of the demonstra- 
tion, now cried out, ‘‘Sirs, why do ye these 
things? We also are men of like passions 
with you, and preach unto you that ye 
should turn from these vanities unto the liy- 
ing God!’’ Then came the reaction, as a 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 21S 


matter of course. On finding that these men, 
so far from being gods, were opposing the 
worship of their gods, the people presently 
dragged Paul out beyond the walls and 
stoned him, leaving him for dead. 

And here is where we meet with Timothy 
for the first time. He was then a youth of 
possibly sixteen years, the son of a pagan 
father and a Jewish mother who dwelt in 
Lystra. The mother Eunice, with ‘‘grand- 
mother Lois’’ and the young man, had been 
converted by the preaching of Paul; and 
doubtless they were ‘‘the disciples’’ who as- 
suaged his wounds and cared for him until 
the next morning, when he was able with the 
help of Barnabas to resume his journey. 

The next we hear of Timothy was four 
years later, A.D. 51, when Paul again visited 
Lystra. This was on his second missionary 
journey. Barnabas had now parted com- 
pany with him because Paul, for good and 
sufficient reasons (Acts 15:38, 39), would 
not take John Mark along as their courier. 
Silas had taken the place of Barnabas: but 
a courier was needed. Why not Timothy ? 
‘The very man,’’ said Paul; and then and 


214  TLIFE AND EE TEERS OFS TReRpAw i 


there began a friendship so loyal, affection- 
ate and enduring as to furnish an exemplary 
ilustration of ‘‘the tie that binds our hearts 
in Christian love.’? Paul was now forty- 
five years of age and Timothy scarcely 
twenty-one. They were like father and son; 
indeed the younger is addressed again and 
again in the Epistles as *‘mine own son”’ and 
‘‘my dearly beloved son.’’ But notwith- 
standing this disparity in age there was no 
disparity in service. They were true yoke- 
fellows and fellow-laborers in the Kingdom 
of Christ. 

Setting out together from Lystra, they 
stayed by one another to the journey’s end. 
At Troas they took ship together in answer 
to the Macedonian call, ‘‘Come over and help 
us!’’? They pushed their way together along 
the mountain roads to Philippi, on to Thes- 
salonica, thence to Berea, where Silas and 
Timothy remained while Paul pushed on to 
Athens. Again united, they came to gay, 
godless Corinth where a fruitful campaign 
was carried on. Then homeward bound, with 
a halt at Ephesus for ‘‘a good while’’ with 
important results. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 215 


_ This brings us to the year 55, when Tim- 
othy appears as the ‘‘bishop’’ or minister of 
the Ephesian Church. It appears that when 
Paul resumed his homeward journey he left 
Timothy behind to take charge of the grow- 
ing body of believers in that city. As to his 
faithfulness in that difficult field — under 
the shadow of the temple of great Diana — 
we have abundant evidence in the letters 
which Paul afterward sent him. In the 
First Epistle to Timothy, written 64 a.p. 
while Paul was a prisoner in the Pretorian 
camp at Rome, we have the classical basis 
of all pastoral ‘‘charges’’ from then until 
now. In the second we have the Apostle’s 
farewell to his ‘‘beloved son.’’ 

In the year 66 Paul, having been re- 
arrested after his first imprisonment (2 
Tim. 4:16, 17), was confined in the Mam- 
mertine jail. It was a cheerless place. 
Alone and friendless but for the companion- 
ship of faithful Luke, he writes to Timothy, 

“Tyo thy diligence to come shortly unto me. Take 
Mark and bring him with thee. The cloke that I 
left at Troas, when thou comest bring with thee, and 


the books and parchments. Do thy diligence to come 
before winter. Grace be with you.” 2 Tim. 4: 9-22. 


oe 


216° LIFE. AND DR TTERS OF ST PAUL 


It is safe to say that Timothy was at 
Rome in due time, with the ‘‘cloke’’ to com- 
fort Paul against the chill of the approach- 
ing winter, and the ‘‘books and parchments’’ 
for the alleviation of the old man’s weary 
hours. 

It appears certain that Timothy had pa- 
tiently continued in the pastorate of the 
Ephesian Church for the intervening period 
of eleven years; and, for anything to the con- 
trary, we may assume that he was still in 
charge (A.D. 95) when John, the last sur- 
vivor of the apostles, delivered his message 
‘‘to the angel’’ (literally, messenger or am- 
bassador) ‘‘of the Church at Ephesus.’’ 
(Rev. 2:1-7.) We eannot follow him 
further; here the record ends. 

There is enough, however, to give us a 
clear tout ensemble of Timothy’s character. 
To begin with, he was a quiet man, with a 
‘‘oift.’? What the particular gift was that 
Paul exhorts him to ‘‘stir up’? (2 Tim. 1:6) 
we are left to surmise. It was probably not 
eloquence; possibly it was tact. The length 
of his pastorate in Ephesus would indicate 
that he knew how to manage a difficult situ- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 217 


ation and get along with all kinds of people. 
In any ease he used his gift to the glory of 
God, which is the main point. Everybody 
has a gift of some sort, which needs not only 
to be stirred up but kept stirring. Miss 
Havergal knew how to sing; and when she 
became a Christian she resolved to sing her 
best for the Lord who had redeemed her. 


“Take my voice and let me sing 
Always, only, for my King!” 


The courage of Timothy is also in evi- 
dence. He did not flinch, like John Mark, 
at the foot of the Lycaonian hills. He faced 
the danger that confronted him as a com- 
panion with Paul in the Mammertine jail. 
He had counted the cost of being a Chris- 
tian and faced whatever might befall him 
as simply ‘‘in the day’s work.’’ The Lord 
wants such men to serve him. 

And then consider his faithfulness. It is 
rumored that some ministers are wont to re- 
gard their parishes as mere stepping-stones 
to larger parishes further on. Not so Tim- 
othy. ‘‘Tarry in Ephesus,’’ wrote Paul; and 
tarry he did, resolutely continuing in labor 


218 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


of love and patience of hope for a lifetime. 
It was to a ‘‘likeminded man’’ (Phil. 2: 19, 
20) that Paul wrote his farewell words: ‘‘I 
have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith.’’ 

And this, finally. The groundwork of his 
character was fidelity to the Word of God. 
He had learned the Scriptures in his old 
home at Lystra, where, despite the influence 
of a pagan father, he imbibed the unfeigned 
faith of his mother Eunice and his grand- 
mother Lois. ‘‘ rom a ehild,’’ writes Paul, 
‘thou hast known the holy Scriptures which 
are able to make thee wise unto salvation 
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All 
Scripture,’’ he significantly adds, ‘‘given 
by inspiration of God, is profitable for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction, for in- 
struction in righteousness: that the man of 
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
unto all good works.’’ It was because Paul, 
the ‘‘father superior’”’ of this young man, 
was confident of his devotion to the Scrip- 
tures that he could hopefully exhort him to 
preach accordingly: ‘‘Study to show thyself 
approved unto God, a workman that needeth 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS maghe, 


not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word 
Ofiruto.:: 

From all of which we conclude that the 
best Christian is a Bible Christian, and that 
the best minister is one who not only believes 
in the inspiration of the Scriptures but can 
rightly adjust them to the needs of those 
who hear him. The Lord’s promise is, ‘‘ My 
word shall not return unto me void, but it 
shall accomplish that which I please, and 
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent 
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LUKE: “THE BELOVED 
Bees LAN 


221 


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pilgrims found upon his knees 
Ground. 


222 


Vv 


LUKE: “THE BELOVED 
BIDY SiGEA Ng 


It is no easy matter to do good work when 
one is handicapped by ill health. Paul was 
never a well man: he speaks of his ‘‘oft in- 
firmities,’’ the chiefest of which was a mys- 
terious ‘‘thorn in the flesh’’ that never 
ceased to trouble him. 

All went well on his first missionary 
journey until he reached Galatia, where he 
was laid low by an illness that must have de- 
tained him for a considerable time. (Gal. 
4: 13,14.) Hethen pressed on until he came 
to Troas, where he had his vision of the man 
of Macedonia beckoning and calling, ‘‘Come 
over and help us!’’ 

This meant an adventure into Kurope. A 
new continent for Christ! So important an 
enterprise could not safely be undertaken in 
Paul’s precarious condition without the 
help of a physician; and here is where we 
catch our first glimpse of Luke. He may 


223 


224 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


have been a resident of Troas; if so he must 
have given up his local practice in order to 
accompany Paul and minister to him. 

How do we know that Luke here joined 
the missionary group that crossed the 
Hellespont into Europe? By the change of 
a pronoun in the narrative. Up to this point 
the writer of the Acts of the Apostles — 
none other than Luke himself — has used 
the pronoun ‘‘they,’’ but from henceforth he 
speaks in the first person, ‘‘we.’’ (Acts 16: 
10.) By following the change of pronouns 
from ‘‘they’’ to ‘*we’’ and back again we 
shall have no difficulty in tracing the foot- 
steps of Luke from now on. 

He continued with Paul as far as Phil- 
ippi, where — from the resumption of the 
pronoun ‘‘they’’ — we conclude that he was 
either constrained to remain behind for a 
season or possibly to return to his native 
eity. In any ease he did not rejoin the mis- 
slonary group until several years later, 
when, on the third journey, they came again 
to Philippi. (Acts 20:6.) Here the chron- 
icler resumes the first personal pronoun and 
keeps it to the end. It would appear that 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 225 


Paul’s failing health now ealled for the con- 
stant attendance of a physician; and Luke 
never failed him. 

He was with Paul on his perilous journey 
to Jerusalem (Acts 20:15, 16), also during 
his imprisonment at Cesarea and his voyage 
to Rome; and he kept the log of the final 
voyage with its driving storm and _ ship- 
wreck. (Acts 27:1.) He shared the hard- 
ships of Paul’s weary confinement in the - 
Pretorian camp and subsequently in the 
Mammertine jail (2 Tim. 4:11), and was 
with him no doubt when the executioner 
summoned him to die outside the gates of 
the city. . 

No man ever had less to say of himself 
than Luke; yet by reading between the lines 
we may form a very distinct outline of his 
Christian life and character. 

I. Tradition says that he was a painter. 
Whether that is correct or not, certain it is 
that he portrayed the Apostle Paul in colors 
unmistakably bright and clear. This was 
because he dipped his inspired pen in 
‘¢Siloa’s brook that flows fast by the Oracle 
of God.’’ Nor ean his self-effacement in be- 


226 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


half of the great missionary conceal his own 
face and figure as that of a singularly up- 
right and devoted man. 

II. He was a writer of distinction, master 
of a-style marked by great clarity and pic- 
turesquesness. He begins the Acts of the 
Apostles with these words: ‘The former 
treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all 
that Jesus began both to do and teach until 
the day in which he was taken up.’ The 
Gospel according to Luke is ‘‘the former 
treatise’ referred to. These two books re- 
main as his enduring memorials. In “the 
Gospel according to Luke” we have really 
the Gospel according to Paul, the proba- 
bility being, as Athanasius says, that Paul 
“dictated” the substance of it. 

III. He was a skillful as well as “be- 
loved” physician. Of the four evangelists 
who wrote the Life of Jesus he most empha- 
sizes the miracles of healing and dwells most 
particularly on the symptoms of disease and 
the mode of treatment. But while thus be- 
traying his own professional skill he hides 
himself with the utmost care behind the fig- 
ure of Jesus as “the great physician.” It 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS Bel 


is he who tells the touching story of the 
woman with an incurable hemorrhage, re- 
vealing a quiet sense of humor at the ex- 
pense of his professional brethren in the 
statement that she ‘‘had spent all her living 
upon physicians, neither could be healed of 
any.” He attributes to Jesus such healing 
power that “virtue went out of him” 
through the very touch of the hem of his 
garment. No other of the sacred writers 
gives us so clear a view of the compassion 
of Jesus toward the poor, the helpless and 
the abandoned. Where in all the world of 
literature can be found so vivid a portrayal 
as in Luke 15 of Jesus as the incarnation of 
God, coming down from heaven to seek and 
to save, and seeking the lost” until he find 
re hg’ 

IV. But in his relation to Paul we know 
this man best as a faithful friend. No fair- 
weather friend was he; through evil and 
good report he stayed by him. This is the 
sort of friend we need, one who stands ready 
to summer and winter with us. “Do thy 
diligence to come shortly unto me,” writes 
Paul to Timothy in the darkness and chill 


228. LIFE AND GE REDRS OW Sia PAUL 


of his last imprisonment; “only Luke is with 
me.’ Only Luke! But what to this weary 
old soldier would the Mammertine jail have 
been without Luke? | 

But there was Another with Paul in those 
weary hours, a better Friend than Luke, a 
Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 
“The Lord,’ he says, “‘stood with me.” And 
this is the Friend whom Luke in all his writ- 
ings commends as the chiefest among ten 
thousand and altogether lovely. Blessed is 
the man who confides in Him! 

One could wish that we knew more of the 
later years of this “beloved” man. As it 
is, in parting company with him we cannot 
but remark upon his likeness to ‘“‘Mr. Stand- 
fast’? in ‘‘The Pilgrim’s Progress,’? who 
was also faithful unto the end. As he came 
to the brink of the river, with the glory of 
the Celestial City before him, he “talked 
with the companions that had waited upon 
him thither. And he said, ‘This river has 
been a terror to many; yea, the thoughts of 
it also have often frightened me; but now 
methinks I stand easy... . The thoughts 
of what I am going to, and of the convoy 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 229 


that waits for me on the other side, do lie 
as a glowing coal at my heart. My toilsome 
days are ended. ... I have loved to hear 
my Lord spoken of; and wherever I have 
seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there 
I have coveted to set my foot too. His name 
has been to me as a civet-box; yea, sweeter 
than all perfumes. His voice to me has been 
most sweet, and his countenance I have more 
desired than they that have most desired the 
light of the sun. Huis words I did use to 
gather for my food, and for antidotes 
against my faintings. He hath held me, and 
hath kept me from mine iniquities; yea, my 
steps hath he strengthened in his way.’ 
Now, while he was thus in discourse, his 
countenance changed; his strong man bowed 
under him; and after he had said, ‘Take me, 
for I come unto thee,’ he ceased to be seen 
of them. But glorious it was to see how the 
open region was filled with horses and 
chariots, with trumpeters and pipers, with 
singers and players upon stringed instru- 
ments, to welcome the pilgrims as they went 
up and followed one another in at the beauti- 
ful gate of the city.” 















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arenes ilk ia ee ina im 


VI 
LYDIA: THE PURPLE-SELLER 


231 


Then the porter rang his bell, as at such times he 
was wont, and there came to the door one of the 
damsels, whose name was Humble-mind; and to her 
the porter said, “Go tell it within that Christiana the 
wife of Christian and her children are come hither 
on pilgrimage.” She went in therefore and told it. 
But oh, what noise for gladness was there within 
when the damsel did but drop that out of her mouth! 


232 


VI 
LYDIA: THE PURPLE-SELLER 


THE story begins with a voyage — a mem- 
orable voyage. 

On the deck of a vessel crossing the 
Hellespont are three men searching for an- 
other man. One of them had a dream last 
night at Troas, in which he saw a dim figure, 
known by his peculiar garb and dialect to be 
a Macedonian, stretching out his hands and 
calling, ‘‘Come over and help us!’’ Paul 
was the last person in the world to be unre- 
sponsive to such a call. Summoning his 
friend Silas and Luke, his attendant physi- 
cian, he ‘‘immediately”’ set sail. 

The two epic heroes of ancient Rome and 
Greece had also sailed from Troas; but the 
Aineid and the Odyssey dwindle into insig- 
nificance when compared with the adventure 
of these men. It means a new continent for 

233 


234 LIFE AND LETTERS.OF SPAPAUL 


Christ! Somewhere in those distant hills of 
Europe the pursuivant of a mighty cause 
awaits these men. But will they find him? 

The next day was the Sabbath. But Phi- 
lippi was a pagan city and cared nothing for 
the Lord or for his holy day. Three 
strangers sought a synagogue in vain. Out- 
side the gates there was a proseuche, or 
‘‘place where prayer was wont to be made,”’ 
and a company of devout women, Jewesses 
and ‘‘proselytes’’ of Jewish faith, were 
there engaged in worship when — no doubt 
to their amazement and perhaps embar- 
rassment — the three strangers appeared in 
their midst. In accordance with the custom 
of the synagogue they were invited to speak 
on the lesson of the day: ‘‘If ye have any 
word of exhortation for us, say on.’’ (See 
Luke 4:16; Acts 13:15, ete.) We have no 
report of Paul’s sermon, but it goes without 
saying that he preached on ‘‘This Jesus is 
the Christ.”’ 

And then and there they found the ‘‘man 
of Macedonia.’’ The forerunner of all 
Christian converts on the continent of Eu- 
rope proved to be a woman; as it is written: 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 235 


“A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, 
of the city of Thyatira, heard us; whose heart the 
Lord opened that she attended unto the things which 
were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized and 
her household she besought us saying, If ye have 
judged me to be faithful to the Lord come into my 
house and abide there.” Acts 16:14, 15. 

This is not much of a biography, but we 
must make the most of it; since — except 
for a few brief and somewhat vague allu- 
sions — this is substantially all we know of 
her. But there is a good deal here for one 
who is able to read between the lines. 

First, she was a native of Thyatira. Now 
Thyatira was in Mysia, a pagan country 
which Paul had greatly desired to enter with 
the Gospel message, but when he ‘‘assayed 
to go’”’ with his companions ‘‘the Spirit suf- 
fered them not.’’ (Acts 16: 7,8.) It would 
appear, however, that the desired end was 
accomplished through the conyersion of 
Lydia; the probability being that she was 
the means of establishing the church which 
afterward flourished in that city. (Rev. 2: 
18-29.) 

Second, she was a ‘‘devout’’ woman, that 
is a ‘‘proselyte’’ or convert from paganism 


236 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


to the Jewish religion. As a worshiper of 
the true God she was in the way of discover- 
ing God revealed in his only begotten Son. 
There are many ‘‘devout’’ people who are 
not Christians but, in so far as they are 
earnest seekers after truth, they are certain 
to accept Christ when they behold him. 

Third, her heart was open. The Lord had 
so opened it that on hearing that Jesus was 
the prophesied and long-looked-for Messiah 
she ‘‘attended”’ to the message and received 
him. This is salvation; this is ‘‘justification 
by faith’’; this is what it means to be a 
Christian, no more and no less. 

Fourth, she was ‘‘baptized’’; that is, she 
made an open confession of her faith. The 
Church has only two sacraments: one 1s bap- 
tism, which as an initiatory rite commits the 
initiate to the open and avowed service of 
Christ; the other is the Lord’s Supper, in 
which the church-member at stated times re- 
news his covenant. When Lydia was bap- 
tized with her household she gave it to be 
understood that she and her children were - 
prepared to stand up and be counted for 
Christ. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS beef 


Fifth, she opened her house to Paul and 
his companions. This meant more than the 
eustomary hospitality of the Orient: 1t was 
an expression of gratitude for the great 
service they had rendered her, and also a 
recognition of the new and wonderful bond 
of fellowship which every believer finds in 
the company of Christian friends. ‘‘ Birds 
of a feather flock together.’’ ‘‘Blest be the 
tie that binds our hearts in Christian love!’’ 

There is a sequel. It was not long before 
the campaign in Philippi came to a sudden 
end. The healing of the demoniacal malady 
of a slave girl, whom her masters had used 
as a pythoness with much profit to them- 
selves, led to a riot and the arrest of Paul 
and Silas as disturbers of the peace. They 
were scourged and cast into prison. That 
night there was an earthquake which shook 
the prison walls and released the prisoners. 
Their jailer, whose life under the Roman 
law was forfeit in case of their escape, threw 
himself upon their mercy, crying, ‘‘Men and 
brethren, what shall I do?’’ Never was a 
better chance to preach the Gospel, and Paul 
immediately took advantage of it, saying, 


238 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 
shalt be saved and thy house.’’ And behold 
the man believed and ‘‘ was baptized and all 
his straightway.”’ 

A strange conversion and how different 
from lydia’s! Her heart was gently 
‘fopened’’ by the Spirit, while it took an 
earthquake to convert him. But so it is 
written: ‘‘There are diversities of opera- 
tions, but it is the same God which worketh 
allin all.’’ (1 Cor. 12:6.) Not all are born 
into the Kingdom in the same way. Some 
Christians can remember the very day and 
hour when, after long conviction, they were 
eloriously blinded for a season, like Saul of 
Tarsus, by a light above the brightness of 
the sun; others remember their conversion 
as the quiet falling of the dew or the break- 
ing of a new day; while others still cannot 
at all remember the beginning of their Chris- 
tian life. God works as he will. The New 
Jerusalem has twelve gates and every gate 
is of pearl; let no one insist that another 
shall pass through the same gate by which 
he entered into the Celestial City. 

The story of Lydia ends with a scene in 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 209 


the church at Philippi. Eleven years have 
passed. The minister, possibly Epaphro- 
ditus, is reading to the congregation a letter 
just received from Paul, a prisoner at 
Rome. In view of the relations of Lydia 
with Paul and with the Philippian church 
it is strange that the letter makes no mention 
of her. Perhaps she was dead, or had re- 
moved to some other city. Or possibly we 
may discover her in the modest company re- 
ferred to in these words: ‘‘I entreat thee, 
true yokefellow, help those women which 
labored with me in the Gospel, whose names 
are in the book of life.’”’ (Phil. 4:3.) In 
any case Lydia is worthy to be named among 
those who ‘‘labored together’? with Paul. 
She journeyed with him in spirit and shared 
with him the hardships of his ministry. 
‘*Let her works praise her in the gates.”’ 

It is sometimes said by way of criticising 
the Church that ‘‘the women keep it up.’’ 
In large measure this is true. It is also true 
that the women are the main support of our 
domestic life. If it were not for the gra- 
cious influence of our mothers and wives and 
daughters what sort of homes would our 


240 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


homes be? And the women stand back of 
our schools and hospitals and all institutions 
that make for the betterment of the com- 
munity. Moreover of late their leaven has 
so beneficently leavened the lump of national 
affairs that I doubt if the crustiest bachelor 
in America would suggest a return to the 
good old times when not infrequently our 
ballots were cast in dramshops to an accom- 
paniment of ribald profanity. It is just oc- 
casion for regret that so many Christian 
women, like Lois, are yoked up with pagan 
Greeks who, cumbered with much service in 
the marketplace, can find neither time nor 
inclination to serve God. To utter a gibe at 
the Church because Lois is there with her 
boy Timothy is to show a singular ignorance 
of analogy and the eternal fitness of things. 

All hail to the Lydias of the Church, the 
ministering women whose hearts are open 
to truth and in whose lips is the law of kind- 
ness! By the memory of the mother of our 
Lord and of the mothers that bore us, of the 
sisters that guided our early feet and the 
wives who fill and furnish our homes with 
labor of love, we take shame to ourselves 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 241 


that ever a man presumes to cast a slur on 
woman’s devotion to Christ. 

All hail to our elect ladies! If ever we 
get to heaven we shall find them there be- 
fore us—and not alone. It is written of 
Christian that, fleeing from the City of De- 
struction, he left his household behind him; 
but Christiana would not go without her 
children. At heaven’s gate we shall meet 
them, mothers like Hannah and Christiana, 
mothers like yours and mine; and as they 
enter with the sunlight of blessing in their 
faces, we shall hear them saying, ‘‘ Here, 
Lord, am I and they whom thou hast given 
me!’’ 


Wy 
i 


on ci ee as ite 
te ar 


eee 


nna 





VII 
AQUILA AND PRISCILLA 


243 


I will sing you first this song: 


‘“‘When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither 
And hear how these two pilgrims talk together; 
Yea, let them learn of them in any wise, 

Thus to keep ope their drowsy, slumb’ring eyes.” 


244 


VIT 
AQUILA AND PRISCILLA 


In 54 4.D., this man and his wife were pur- 
suing their trade as tentmakers at Corinth, 
whither they had come in pursuance of a 
recent edict of the Emperor against the 
Jews. (Acts 18:1-3.) It chanced that at 
that time Paul was carrying on an evan- 
gelistic campaign in the same city, and. 
being a tent-maker by trade and needing 
work, he found his way to Aquila’s shop. 
As he plied the needle he related to his fel- 
low-workmen the wonderful story of his con- 
version and explained the Good News. They 
welcomed it gladly and were known thence- 
forth as followers of Christ. 

Of all Paul’s helpers none were to prove 
themselves more helpful than these two. A 
lonely man, he was in constant need of the 
comfort which such a home-making couple 
could provide for him. 

A few years later Paul went to Ephesus 

245 


246 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


and they with him. He soon departed for 
Jerusalem however to attend one of the an- 
nual feasts, and his work was left in their 
hands. Meanwhile a learned Jew of Alexan- 
dria, named Apollos, had come to the city 
and, being eloquent and mighty in the Serip- 
tures, was teaching ‘‘diligently the things 
of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of 
John.’’ In other words, be perceived that 
the times were out of joint and anticipated 
the coming of the kingdom; but the larger 
truths of the Gospel were as yet unknown 
to him. In some manner he came under the 
influence of Aquila and Priscilla, and ‘‘they 
expounded unto him the way of God more 
perfectly.”’ (Acts 18: 24-26.) This appears 
to have been the first Theological Seminary 
of the Christian Church: primitive, indeed, 
yet it may be doubted whether in all the 
world there was another institution of ]learn- 
ing where the truth was more sincerely or 
comprehensively taught. Not  Zeno’s 
Painted Porch, nor Plato’s Academy, nor 
Gamaliel’s school at Jerusalem could have 
so well equipped Apollos for his work as an 
evangelist. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 247 


In Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians 
(1 Cor. 16:19) mention is made of Aquila 
and Priscilla and ‘‘the church that is in their 
house.’’ This probably means no more 
than that, at stated times, the followers of 
Christ met and worshiped together at their 
family altar: nevertheless the domestic 
circle is thus invested with a peculiar sanc- 
tity as the germ of that great organism 
which we call the Church of God. 

Later they were at Rome as Paul’s 
helpers. It would appear that they had been 
involved in some sort of persecution, from 
which they had rescued Paul at the peril of 
their lives. (Rom. 16:3-5.) And again 
mention is made of ‘‘the church that is in 
their house.’’ A strange contrast this to St. 
Peter’s in the Rome of to-day! That humble 
church in the tentmakers’ home had no 
tiaraed Pope, no imposing College of Car- 
dinals, no elaborate paraphernalia of wor- 
ship; yet great was God’s blessing upon it. 

The last mention of Aquila and Priscilla 
finds them back at Ephesus in the year 66. 
(2 Tim. 4:19.) There is a tradition that on 
the 8th of July — the day set apart for them 


-248 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


in the martyrology of the Romish Church 
—the faithful couple were led out beyond 
the walls and beheaded. It is easy to fill in 
the details of the pathetic picture; each 
looked at the other with eyes full of love, as 
if to say, ‘‘ Farewell; fear not!’’ There was 
a flash of the blade, and they were at home 
with God. 

The story of Aquila and. Priscilla is a 
beautiful idyl of home-life. The religion of 
Christ 1s singular in the emphasis which it 
puts upon the privileges and responsibilities 
of the domestic sphere. It is written that 
when Sayka-Muni had discovered ‘‘the 
Great Truth,’’ and had determined to devote 
himself to its propagation, he came to his 
home in the night-time and, finding his wife - 
asleep, with her infant beside her, he softly 
kissed her, said farewell and went his way. 
This was Mahabanish kramana, ‘‘the Great 
Renunciation.’’? He saw his home thence- 
forth no more, but, sitting under the sacred 
Bo-tree, gave himself to meditation, losing 
himself in contemplation of the Ineffable 
One. How striking the contrast between 
this and the life of Jesus! At the home in 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 249 


Nazareth he was ‘‘subject unto his par- 
ents’’; at the home in Bethany he found rest 
and comfort during the troubled years of 
his ministry; at the home in Cana he laid 
his benediction upon the delights of social 
life; and when he would portray the glories 
of heaven, he spoke not of a city, nor of a 
better country, nor of a garden of delights, 
but of home, sweet home. ‘‘In my Father’s 
house are many mansions; if it were not so 
I would have told you. I go to prepare a 
place for you.”’ 

Here ws a pleasant picture also of wedded 
love. Aquila and Priscilla are always named 
together, as if they were inseparable; but, 
singularly, the order varies, suggesting that 
there was no strife for the pre-eminence. It 
reminds us of what Jeremy Taylor said: 
‘‘When God created woman, he made her 
not of Adam’s head, as if she were to rule 
over him; nor out of his feet, as if he were 
to rule over her; but from his side, close by 
his heart, because he should ever love and 
honor and protect her.’’ 

In these days of loose thinking and looser 
living in these premises, it is well to empha- 


250. ‘LIFE AND LETTERS OF SESPAUL 


size the fact that wedlock 1s a divine ordt- 
mance. It is not a sacrament; wherever so 
regarded, as among all the Latin nations, 
immorality prevails. But this union was 
ordained of God in the time of man’s inno- 
cency. ‘‘It is not good,’’ he said, ‘‘for man 
to be alone’’; wherefore he made woman to 
be his helpmeet. The generic man, the so- 
cial unit, is not one but two in one; as it is 
written, ‘‘Male and female created he them, 
and blessed them, and called their name 
Adam.’’ (Gen. 5: 2.) 

This union is, further,- pronounced to be 
“honorable in all.’ A Scotch girl to whom 
her minister had said, ‘‘Janet, it 1s a very 
serious thing to be married,’’ answered with- 
out hesitation, ‘‘Aye, minister, I ken it isa 
serious thing to be married, but it 1s more 
serious no’ to be.’’?’ The humor of the canny 
lass was quite eclipsed by her philosophy. 
There is such a thing as ‘‘single blessed- 
ness’’; but it stands as the exception and not 
the rule. Blessedness is a path for two. It 
has been truly said of wedlock, ‘‘It halves 
our sorrows and doubles our joys.’’ 

But there are two conditions affixed to an 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS ol 


ideal marriage. One is mutual love. There 
is no place in the divine economy for a 
‘‘marriage of convenience.’’ It 1s a per- 
version of the order of nature and a trav- 
esty on the ordinance of God. You may 
carpet your floors with softest velvet, cover 
your walls with richest tapestries, fill the at- 
mosphere with music of harp and dulcimer, 
and spread your table with all rare and deli- 
eate viands; but if love be wanting your 
home will be no better than a lodge in a 
garden of cucumbers. On the other hand, 
the nearest approach to heaven is ‘‘love in a 
cottage.’’ The hail may rattle on the roof, 
the snows sift under the eaves, the grate be 
cold and the larder empty; the wolf may 
howl at the door, the King of Terrors him- 
self may stand beckoning at the threshold, 
but if love abides within, all’s well. 

A man in public life, well-known and dis- 
tinguished among our law-makers, whose 
domestic establishment is a proverb for hos- 
pitality and whose wife is a recognized 
leader in society, recently said, ‘‘Our hearts 
go back longingly to the days when we lived 
in a home of two rooms, practising petty 


252. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


economies to make both ends meet ; when we 
were apart from the world and alone with 
each other; those were our happiest days.’’ 


Love is better than beauty or wit; 
Love is better than gold; 

Love is not found in the marketplace; 
Love is not bought and sold. 


The other condition of ideal happiness is 
to be joined in the Lord. It has been wiselv 
said, ‘‘Be not unequally yoked together.’’ 
(2 Cor.6:14.) This is an old-fashioned pre- 
cept; but its wisdom is certified by the sor- 
row of many lives. It is obvious that when 
husband and wife are at odds concerning 
the fundamental facts of religion they are 
not ‘‘united as one.’’ A Christian thinks 
more of his religion than of anything else; 
it is his meat and drink; it is the very air he 
breathes. The name of his Saviour is as 
ointment poured forth; he lives for Christ, 
and is willing to die for him. How, under 
such circumstances, can one be happily 
joined to another who is averse to such con- 
siderations or quite indifferent to them? 
The advice of Paul to couples who are thus 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 253 


matched but not mated is found in 1 Cor- 
inthians 7: 12-17: but an ounce of preven- 
tion is worth a pound of cure. A duet of 
musical instruments. is impossible except as 
they are keyed to the same pitch. There 
are many who, failing to remember this, 
have married in haste to repent at leisure. 
The family altar is the heart of the Chris- 
tian home. It is as true now as in the days 
of Obed-edom that God prospers the home 
where the ark abides. In the morning, when 
each member of the household sets forth 
upon a day of unknown duties and dangers, 
is it not well to kneel together and offer 
prayer like that of the Breton mariner, ‘‘O 
Lord, keep me; my boat is so little and the 
ocean so wide’’? At eventide is it not well 
to invoke the protecting care of God? In 
the hour of sorrow, when sickness invades 
the home or when there is a crape on the 
door, there are strength and comfort and 
hope in clasping hands at the doorway of the 
Holiest of All. It is a grave responsibility 
which a father takes who allows his children 
to grow up to maturity and pass out into the 
responsibilities of life without having heard 


254 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


his voice lifted in their behalf at the throne 
of the heavenly grace. 

We glory in our American homes; but be- 
fore the foundations of this Republic were 
laid the Christian home had its place among 
the Scottish hills. ‘‘The church in the 
house’’ was kept up at peril of life and con- 
fiscation of goods by those who were pledged 
to Christ’s crown and covenant! Very many 
of our lyrics of domestic life are of Scottish 
birth. One of them is ‘‘The Cotter’s Satur- 
day Night.’’ The steps of the weary worker 
are quickened as he catches sight of the light 
in the window: 


His wee bit ingle, blinkin’ bonnilie, 
His clean hearthstane, his thriftie wifie’s atte 
The lisping infant prattling on his knee, 
Does a’ his weary carking cares beguile, 
And makes him quite forget his labor and his toil. 


* * * % 


The cheerfu’ supper done, wi’ serious face 
They, round the ingle, form a circle wide; 
The sire turns o’er, wi’ patriarchal grace, 
The big ha’-Bible, ance his father’s pride; 
His bonnet reverently is laid aside, 
His lyart haffets wearing thin an’ bare: 
Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide, 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 255 


He wales a portion with judicious care; 
And “Let us worship God!” he says with solemn air. 


* Ws * * 


From scenes like these old Scotia’s grandeur springs, 
That makes her loved at home, revered abroad. 


And another is ‘‘John Anderson, My Jo.’’ 
The faithful wife, on whose cheeks the rose 
has faded, in whose eyes the light is dim, 
looks up into the face of her gray-haired 
companion and sings with quavering voice: 


“John Anderson my jo, John, 

When we were first: acquent, 
Your locks were like the raven, 
Your bonnie brow was brent; 
But now your brow is beld, John, 
Your locks are like the snaw; 
But blessings on your frosty pow, 

John Anderson my jo! 


“John Anderson my jo, John, 
We clamb the hill thegither; 
And mony a canty day, John, 
We’ve had wi’ ane anither. 
Now we maun totter down, John, 
But hand in hand we'll go; 
And sleep thegither at the foot, 
John Anderson my jo.” 


256 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


And another of these home-songs tells of the 
Reconciliation. The husband has quarreled 
with his gude-wife and speaks entreatingly: 


“Thou hast sworn by thy God, my Jeanie, 
By that pretty white hand o’ thine, 

And by a’ the lowing stars o’ heaven 
That thou wad aye be mine. 


“And I hae sworn by my God, my Jeanie, 
And by that kind heart o’ thine, 

By a’ the stars sown thick o’er heaven, 
That thou shalt aye be mine. 


“Then foul fa’ the hands that wad loose sic bands 
And the heart that wad part sic love; 

But there is nae hand can lose my band 
But the finger o’ Him above. 


“Come here to me, thou lass 0’ my love, 
Come here and kneel wi’ me: 

The morn is fu’ o’ the presence o’ God, 
And I canna pray without thee. 


“The Book maun be ta’en when the carle comes hame 
Wi’ the holy psalmodie; 

And thou maun speak o’ me to thy God, 
And I will speak o’ thee.” 


But Aquila and Priscilla, husband and 
wife, were also partners wn faithful service. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 257 


It would appear that they shared the duties 
of their workshop. It is much to say that 
they were not ashamed of manual toil, since 
in those days it was regarded as the business 
of slaves. The life of Jesus as the Carpenter 
of Nazareth has done much to reverse that 
judgement, although there are still some who 
deem it more honorable to live by the sweat 
of their fathers’ faces than of their own. 
But these tentmakers of Pontus were not 
ashamed of their craft. It is safe to say 
moreover that the product of their labor was 
known for its excellent quality. Their tents 
were made of honest goat’s-hair, sewn with 
honest seams and disposed of at an honest 
price. The trade-mark ‘‘A. & P.’’ would 
mean much among the dwellers in tents of 
those days. 

But Aquila and Priscilla did not confine 
their attention to handicraft; they were in 
the higher service of the kingdom of Christ. 
Though not in holy orders, they were faith- 
ful in the preaching of the Gospel and 
showed its excellency in their walk and con- 
versation. ‘The supreme need of our time is 
not more preachers but more consecrated 


258 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


laymen; more men and women ready to ex- 
emplify their religion in the common duties 
of life. 

It was a goodly sight when the Crusader 
rode forth from his walled castle, clad in 
chain armor, his plume waving, banner fly- 
ing, lance poised, in quest of valorous deeds. 
The world looked on while he strove in the 
tourney or championed the weak and help- 
less or fought for the conquest of the Holy 
Sepulchre. But it is a grander sight before 
God when a man, with no blazonry of pomp 
or circumstance, addresses himself day by 
day to labor of love and patience of hope. 
Such an one was Charles Kingsley of gra- 
clous memory, of whom his wife wrote: 
‘The outside world must judge him as an 
author, a preacher, a member of society, but 
those only who lived with him in the inti- 
macy of every-day life at home can tell what 
he was as aman. Over the real romance of 
his life and over the tenderest, loveliest pas- 
sages in his private letters a veil must be 
thrown, but it will not be lifting it too far 
to say that if in the highest, closest of 
earthly relationships a love that never failed 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 259 


—pure, patient, passionate — for six-and- 
thirty years, a love which never stooped 
from its own lofty level to a hasty word, an 
impatient gesture or a selfish act, in sickness 
or in health, in sunshine or in storm, by day 
or by night, could prove that the age of chiv- 
alry has not passed away forever, then 
Charles Kingsley fulfilled the ideal of a 
‘most true and perfect knight’ to the one 
woman blest with that love in time and to 
eternity. ‘Tio eternity, for such love is 
eternal, and he is not dead. He himself, the 
man, the lover, husband, father, friend — he 
still lives in God, who is not the God of the 
dead, but of the living.”’ 

Are such lives unnoticed? Nay, they are 
‘fcompassed about with witnesses.’’ The 
galleries are filled! The Master himself 
looks on; and every word that his diffident 
follower speaks in the interest of truth and 
righteousness, every stretching forth of the 
helping hand, every denial of self, is re- 
corded in heaven. It is said that the vibra- 
tion of the atmosphere produced by speech 
is so rapidly diffused that within twenty 
hours the entire aerial envelope of the earth 


260) BIRR sain DSI DS CIGRS@O hese A rg 


is affected by it. Our life puts on a serious 
aspect when we pause to consider that the 
very air into which we are speaking is a vast 
auditorium, wherein our utterances are pre- 
served forever. This puts an emphasis upon 
the precept, ‘‘Do ye nexte thynge.’’ Let us 
not complain of the narrowness of our 
sphere, but rather seek earnestly to fill it. 
‘‘Go down to thy house,’’ said Jesus to the 
man of Gadara, who, in gratitude for heal- 
ing, desired to follow Christ as a disciple — 
‘*Return to thine house and show how great 
things God hath done unto thee.”’ 

In memory of the quiet but useful lives 
of the many Aquilas and Priscillas whom 
we have known, let us do with our might 
whatsoever our hands find to do, at home, in 
the marketplace, in the fellowship of the 
evangel; and may the God whose eyes run 
to and fro through all the earth take knowl- 
edge of the work of our hands and establish 
it upon us. 


VII 


ME OMIO Se) VTC DYE Nee i ELH 
SCRIPTURES”’ 


261 


Then said the Interpreter, “The Comforter be 
always with thee, good Christian, to guide thee in 
the way that leads to the city.” So Christian went 
on his way, saying, 


“Here I have seen things rare and profitable, 
Things pleasant, dreadful, things to make me stable 
In what I have begun to take in hand: 

Then let me think on them, and understand 
Wherefore they showed me were, and let me be 
Thankful, O good Interpreter, to thee.” 


262 


VALET 


APOLLOS: ‘“‘MIGHTY IN THE 
SCRIPTURES” 


Au that we know of Apollos is gathered 
from a single paragraph in the Acts of the 
Apostles with a few casual references in the 
Epistles. As we put together these scat- 
tered items of information we shall find our- 
selves reading 


A. TALE oF Four CITIEs. 


The paragraph referred to is as follows: 


A certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, 
an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came 
to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of 
the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit he spake 
and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing 
only the baptism of John. And he began to speak 
boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and 
Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and 
expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 
And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia the 


263 


264 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him: 
who, when he was come, helped them much which 
had believed through grace: for he mightily convinced 
the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scrip- 
tures that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 18: 24-28. 


. IT. ALEXANDRIA 


The early life of Apollos was spent in this 
wonderful city, which was the meeting-place 
of Eastern and Western civilization in the 
early centuries of the Christian era. Here 
was the forum where Paganism, Judaism 
and Christianity met for what proved to be 
a conclusive discussion of their respective 
claims. The learning of the world was cen- 
tered there. Greek philosophers touched 
elbows with Jewish rabbis and Christian 
fathers. The lines of controversy by degrees 
converged upon the Old Testament; for the 
better understanding of which a translation 
was made out of the Hebrew into the Greek 
language: and that translation, the Septua- 
gint, remains as a monument of erudition to 
this day. 

The name of Apollos would indicate that 
he was a Jew by adoption only. His par- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 265 


ents would scarcely have named him after 
~ Apollo had they rot been worshipers of the 
pagan gods; though, like multitudes of 
others in Alexandria, they had probably be- 
come ‘‘proselytes,’’ ate is, Wonshipens of 
the true God. 

In any case it is certain that Apollos was 
‘instructed in the way of the Lord.’’ In 
his study of the Old Testament he had dis- 
covered the golden thread of Messianic 
prophecy running through all its pages from 
the protevangel of Paradise, respecting the 
Seed of woman who was to come in the ful- 
ness of time to ‘‘bruise the serpent’s head,”’ 
down to Malachi’s glowing vision of the Sun 
of Righteousness who should ‘‘arise with 
healing in his wings.’’ 

Then came the news from a far country 
that John the Baptist was heralding the 
near approach of the Messiah and calling 
upon the people to repent and prepare the 
way before him. ‘'T’o this the young student 
of the Seriptures responded with a ready 
heart. So far he was able to go and no 
farther. He knew only ‘‘the baptism of 
John,’’ that is, the baptism unto repentance 


266 LIFE:-AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


and preparation for the coming of Christ. — 
He lived up to his hght and was prepared to 
welcome more light whenever it should come 
to him. What more does the good God ask 
of any man? 

This is the secret of ‘‘growing in grace 
and in the knowledge of Christ.’’ An 
earnest seeker after truth — with no hood- 
wink over his eyes and an open door for rev- 
elations from above — will always find it. 
And his path will surely lead him into the 
presence of him who said ‘‘I am the Truth.”’ 
For so it is written, ‘‘To him that hath shall 
be given.’’ There is always more light ahead 
for those who walk as children of the day. 


Il. EPpnersus 


So it happened that Apollos ‘‘came to 
Ephesus.’’ Though no reason is given for 
his coming to that city of blind Jews and 
pleasure-loving pagans, it may be surmised 
from the fact that on his arrival he immedi- 
ately ‘‘spake and taught accurately the 
things concerning Jesus’? up to the full 
measure of his hight. His information was 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 267 


limited to what he had been able to learn of 
the Messiah from his acquaintance with the 
Old Testament plus the teaching of John 
the Baptist: but this was enough to move 
him with an earnest desire to propagate the 
truth. It was like a fire in his bones; for as 
a man of fervent spirit he could not rest 
until he had told these benighted people the 
Good News. 

What a man have we here! He did not, 
like Jonah, have to be told twice to go with 
his message of hope to a people who needed 
it, nor did he fall asleep in the hold of 
a vessel on his way. Here he is, ‘‘speaking 
boldly in the synagogue.’’ Great things are 
to be expected of such a man. 

It chanced that among his hearers in the 
synagogue were two people who had been 
converted through the ministry of Paul on 
his previous visit to this city : the tent-maker 
Aquila and his wife Priscilla. (Acts 18: 
1-3.) They were humble folk, by no means 
on a level with Apollos in education or so- 
cial life; but their hearts went out to him 
as one feeling his way through the twilight 
toward the Truth. They ventured to ap- 


268) LIFE AND LEISEERS OFVs P2PAUEL 


proach him, talked with him, ‘‘took him 
unto them, and expounded unto him the 
Way of God more accurately.’’ (The name 
by which the followers of Christ were called 
at that time was ‘‘people of that Way.’’) 

Let us get this picture before us: A tent- 
maker’s shop; a man and his wife busy at 
their trade; before them an Alexandrian 
scholar drinking in their words. Was ever 
a Theological Seminary like that? But what 
if our Theological Seminaries were to make 
a note of it? What if Aquila and Priscilla 
chairs were established for the ‘‘more ac- 
curate exposition of the Way’’? Why not? 
Theology is good but religion is better. The 
Way is everything. Doctors of Divinity are 
mere lay figures unless they are evangelists 
over and above all. — 


III. CorrmntH 


Now turn to First Corinthians 3: 1-6: 


And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto 
spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in 
Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat: 
for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 269 


now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas 
there is among you envying and strife and divisions, 
are ye not carnal and walk as men? For while one 
saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are 
ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, 
but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord 
gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; 
but God gave the increase. 


It thus appears that Apollos had found 
his way to Corinth. (Acts 19:1.) Here was 
a larger parish for him. The city swarmed 
‘with tradesmen and pleasure-seekers from 
everywhere. What a field for a preacher 
equipped as Apollos now was with the pan- 
oply of the Gospel! By reason of his learn- 
ing and eloquence he forged to the front. 
Tt was not long before the members of the 
Corinthian Church began to contrast his up- 
standing figure and commanding oratory 
with the ‘‘mean presence’? and modest 
speech of Paul their former pastor. Then 
came a division into parties. Some said, ‘‘I 
am of Paul,’’ others, ‘‘I am of Apollos,’’ and 
they were pulling apart. Alas, that there 
should be such divisions in the body of 
Christ! 


270 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Up to this time, so far as we know, Paul 
and Apollos had never met. News of the 
sad state of affairs in the Corinthian Church 
reached Paul as he was off somewhere in 
Macedonia, on his second missionary 
journey; and he immediately sat down and 
wrote to Corinth about it. (1 Cor. 3: 1-9.) 
His reference to the trouble gives us a clear 
sidelight into the character of Paul. He be- 
trays not a sign of envy or jealousy toward 
this unknown man who had apparently un- 
dermined ‘him in the affections of his former 
parishioners, but sinks all personal con- 
siderations in fraternal magnanimity and 
loyalty to Christ. (1 Cor. 4:6.) 

Not long after this Paul met Apollos and 
a friendship began which continued during 
the remainder of their lives. It was in 
Ephesus, about 4.p. 57. (1 Cor. 16:12.) The 
probability is that Apollos had left Corinth 
on account of the feeling of partisanship 
that developed among the Christians there. 
Paul wanted him to go back but he would 
not. ‘‘I besought him much,”’ he says, ‘‘but 
it was not at all his will.’’ Here was a strife 
between two brethren, neither of whom was 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 271 


willing to win glory at the cost of the other: 
a blessed exhibit of ‘‘the mind that was in 
Christ Jesus,’’ who said, ‘‘ Whosoever would 
be first among you shall be servant of all.’’ 


IV. NICOPOLIS 


Hight years have passed. Paul, after his 
imprisonment in the Praetorian camp at 
Rome, has ‘‘escaped from the mouth of the 
lion.’’* Old, half blind and worn out, he 
straightway plans another missionary 
journey. It reminds one of the old couplet 


“Tumble me down, and I will sit 
Exultant on my ruins yet.” 


He takes ship with a group of helpers 
and, leaving Titus on the island of Crete to 
minister in that difficult field, sails on to 
Macedonia where he pauses to rest and 
preach in the ancient city of Nicopolis. 
While there he writes a letter to Titus for 
his encouragement and sends it by the hand 
of Apollos, who is accompanied by a 
‘lawyer’? named Zenas, of whom we know 


* Nero, for obvious reasons, was familiarly known as “The | 
Lion.” . 


2/2, “LIFE ANDIVETIEERS OF Sie PAuUr 


no more. (Titus 3:13.) Not long after the 
writing of this letter Paul was re-arrested 
and carried back to Rome to his execution. 
This ends the story of Paul and his friend. 

The story of Apollos, though so brief and 
fragmentary, gives us the portrait of a man 
remarkable first as a scholar, second as an 
orator of unusual ability; third as an en- 
thusiast, ‘‘fervent in spirit’’; and fourth, 
as ‘‘one mighty in the Scriptures.’’ This 
last characteristic was the secret of his 
power. 

And this power is within the reach of 
every Christian who will take it. There is 
many a humble mother in Israel, unfamiliar 
with the wisdom of the schools, who will re- 
ceive titular honors in heaven because, to 
quote the words of Cowper, she ‘‘just knew, 
and knew no more, her Bible true.”’ 

In Froude’s life of John Bunyan he says 
that while writing ‘‘Pilgrim’s Progress”’ in 
Bedford jail, he had only two books; but 
‘fone of these,’’ he adds, ‘‘was the Bible, 
which of itself alone is a liberal education.’’ 
Many a man has found it so. 

The best people in the world are those 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 273 


who know the Bible and live up to it. The 
most efficient preachers are those whose 
preaching is in line with the promise, ‘‘My 
word shall not return unto me void; but it 
shall accomplish that which I please and it 
shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’’ 
The best course of study ever marked out 
for those who would fit themselves for use- 
fulness in the Christian life is that which 
Paul prescribed for a young friend: ‘‘Study 
to show thyself approved unto God, a work- 
man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
dividing the word of truth.’’ (2 Tim. 2: 15.) 


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IX 
“ONE MNASON OF CYPRUS” 


A he 


So thither they came; and he called at the door, 
and the old man within knew his tongue as soon as 
ever he heard it; so he opened the door, and they 
all came in. Then said Mnason their host, “How 
far have ye come to-day?” So they said, “From the 
house of Gaius our friend.” “I promise you,” said 
he, “you have gone a good stitch. You may well be 
weary: sit down.” So they sat down. 


276 


TX 
“ONE MNASON OF CYPRUS” 


It was when Paul was on the closing lap 
of his third missionary journey that he first 
met this man. He was then going up to 
Jerusalem at peril of his life. His Ephesian 
friends came over to Miletus, where his ship 
was swinging at anchor, to give him fare- 
well. In vain did they endeavor to dissuade 
him from his purpose: he was under orders 
and must go. Whereupon a number of them, 
among whom was Mnason, volunteered to 
accompany him. Here is Luke’s account of 
Wes 


“There went with us also certain of the disciples 
of Cesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of 
Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.” 


This is all the information we have re- 
specting this man: but a good deal can be 
made of it by a proper use of the imagina- 
tion. There are people who seem to think 

277 


278 “LIFE-AND LET CERSSOP Ss ara E 


that the only use of the imagination is in 
drawing the long bow: on the contrary it is 
impossible to tell the truth without it. A 
mere statement of fact is not the whole truth, 
any more than a man is a man until he have 
flesh on his bones. If one would read the 
sum total of anything he must always read 
between the lines. 

Otherwise, for example, how are we going 
to read the story of the Prodigal Son? I 
say, ‘‘The father of the Prodigal used to 
come down to his gate day after day and look 
away beyond the hills and wonder and hope 
and’’— ‘‘Not at all,’’ says the literalist; 
‘‘there is nothing like that in the story.’’ 
Quite right; nevertheless, the story wouldn’t 
be wholly true without it. | 

I say, ‘‘When the boy came back his 
father was so glad to see him that he not 
only ‘went out to meet him while he was yet 
a great way off’ but threw his arms around 
his neck and drowned his voice with kisses. ’’ 
‘*That’s pure invention,’’ says Simon Pure. 
But let us see. You remember the speech 
the penitent boy composed when he was sit- 
ting on the trough in the swine-field: ‘‘T will 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 219 


arise and go unto my father and say, 
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and 
in thy sight and am no more worthy to be 
called thy son: make me as one of thy hired 
servants’ ’’: and you remember how he ar- 
rived with his carefully prepared speech on 
the tip of his tongue but only delivered a 
part of it. Just as he was about to apply for 
a situation as hired servant there came an 
interruption; that was when ‘‘his father fell 
upon his neck and kissed him.’’ Now put 
two and two together and you can under- 
stand why the speech of the prodigal ended 
with a dash. So I say it is impossible to get 
the whole truth without using one’s imagina- 
tion in reading between the lines. 

I. A moment ago it was observed that 
- Paul’s first meeting with Mnason was on the 
seashore at Miletus. Of course the story 
does not say so; but why should it say “‘one 
Mnason’’? If Paul and he had been previ- 
ously acquainted is it likely that he would 
have been referred to in that way ? 

It. We are informed that Mnason was 
‘fof Cyprus,’’ an island in the Mediterra- 
nean which played no unimportant part in 


280: (LIFE ANDIERIVUERS Olesa PAG 


history. Cato, Cicero, Alexander and no 
end of other celebrities were in one way or 
another associated with it. To have a home 
in Cyprus was to be a man of some import- 
ance in those days. 

III. He had also a home in Jerusalem; 
from which we infer that he was a man of 
substance. Not every one can afford, even 
in these prosperous times, to have a summer 
home in the mountains and a winter home 
by the sea. Moreover the house in Jerusa- 
lem was commodious enough to afford en- 
tertainment for the proprietor’s friends. 
Thus everything seems to intimate that 
Mnason was a prosperous man. And, in his 
prosperity, 1t would appear that he regarded 
himself as a steward, using aright what the 
Lord had entrusted to him. 

IV. He was ‘‘a disciple.’’ It was not the 
common fashion as yet to speak of the fol- 
lowers of Christ as ‘‘Christians’’; but to be 
called disciples, or pupils of Christ, was a 
great honor. To sit at his feet, learning of 
him, is to be growing in wisdom every day. 
This was why he said of Mary of Bethany 
that she had ‘‘chosen the good part which 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 281 


should not be taken away from her.’’ (Luke 
10: 42.) 

V. He was ‘“‘an old disciple.’’ In the 
year 46 Paul had visited Cyprus, on his first 
missionary journey; but, apart from the 
conversion of Sergius Paulus, the Gov- 
ernor of the island, there was little to show 
for his ministry there. (Acts 13:4-12.) The 
probability is that Mnason was somewhere 
else at the time; but on his return he would 
be likely to hear all about the apostle’s mes- 
sage: and possibly this was when he accepted 
Christ. If so he was now fifteen years ‘‘old’’ 
in the Christian life. 

VI. But the better rendering is ‘‘an early 
disciple.’? (R. V.) As such he may have 
heard the preaching of Christ himself and 
been converted by it. Or perhaps he was 
among those Cretans (Acts 2:11) who, in the 
open court at Jerusalem, under the power 
of the Holy Ghost, were ‘‘pricked in their 
heart,’’ crying, ‘‘Men and brethren, what 
shall we do?’’ If so, he may then have 
heeded the call of Peter, ‘‘Repent and be 
baptized every one of you in the name of 
Jesus Christ.’’ This would make him thirty 


282. iLIFE AND( DET VERS OF Ste PAUL 


years ‘‘old’’ in the Christian life. A ‘‘dis- 
ciple’’ for thirty years and still going to 
school. This is as it should be: for in the 
University of Truth one is never too old to 
learn. And think what a fund of helpful 
experience this faithful pupil must have ac- 
quired in the meantime; how he must have 
grown in the knowledge of Christ and of the 
great verities and practicalities that center 
in him! 

VII. He was a broad-minded Christian. 
How do we know that? From the fact that — 
he was in accord with Paul’s missionary 
work. If Paul were to present his plans in 
some of our modern churches there are pro- 
fessing Christians who would say, ‘‘Why go 
to the regions beyond when there are so 
many of the unconverted here in Jerusalem ? 
‘Charity begins at home.’’’ But Mnason’s 
charity, while it began at home, was not so 
wizened as to stay there. He may have heard 
the Master say, ‘‘Go ye into all the world 
and preach the Gospel to every creature’’; 
and he knew that followers of Christ could 
only fulfill that commission by going, and 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 283 


keeping on going, until they should have 
earried the Gospel to the last man. 

VIII. And, finally, Mnason was a hospit- 
able man. His entertainment of Paul was, 
however, more than mere compliance with 
a custom which was universal in the Orient 
of those days: it was a happy recognition 
of the fellowship of saints. ‘‘Be not forget- 
ful to entertain strangers,’’ says one of the 
inspired writers, ‘‘for thereby some have 
entertained angels unawares.’’ (Hebrews 
13:2; cf Gen. 19: 1-3.) The sojourn of Paul 
in Mnason’s home in Jerusalem must, in- 
deed, have been like an angel’s visit. What 
an interchange of rich experience there 
would be between these veterans, the old 
missionary and his genial host! 

Here we shall have to leave them. Paul’s 
‘patient continuance’’ was drawing to a 
close. While a guest in that home in Jeru- 
salem he was arrested and placed in the 
Castle of Antonia; thence to prison in 
Ceesarea; thence to Rome and a martyr’s 
death. But old Mnason may have lingered 
on. 
‘‘Old Mnason?’’ What is finer than a 


284 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Lapland winter? In the rare atmosphere 
of a hfe maturing under the shadow of the 
Cross one can look so far both ways! As 
one’s vessel leaves her moorings the skipper 
toasts ‘‘The friends astern!’’ and farther 
out, ‘*‘The friends ahead!’’ A mother in Is- 
rael, much given to gazing upward, said, ‘‘I 
always see the letter W yonder, as plain as 
if it were written across the sky.’’ It stood 
for ‘‘Welcome.’’ The Lord be praised for 
such an outlook! But, if we live to grow old, 
may we never be so engaged with either the 
retrospect or the prospect as not to be able 
to address ourselves with holy zeal and pur- 
pose to the business immediately in hand; 
which is to make each passing moment of 
our lives endear us more and more to the 
Father’s heart by loyalty to his beloved Son. 


xX 


EPAPHRODITUS: COMRADE 
IN ARMS 


285 


Now Mr. Great-heart was a strong man, so he was 
not afraid of a lion. But yet when they were come 
up to the place where the lions were, the boys that 
went before were now glad to cringe behind, for they 
were afraid of the lions; so they stepped back and 
went behind. At this their guide smiled and said, 
“How now, my boys; do you love to go before when 
no danger doth approach, and love to come behind 
so soon as the lions appear?” 


286 


xX 


EKPAPHRODITUS: COMRADE 
IN ARMS 


THE story is of a Journey made by a kind- 
hearted man to relieve the need of an old 
minister who had worn himself out in the 
service of Christ. It is told in a nutshell. 
See Philippians 2: 25-30 and 4: 18. 

The most important parish Paul ever had 
was in the Pretorian camp at Rome. He 
was a prisoner, to be sure, chained to a sol- 
dier day and night: but he ‘‘dwelt in his own 
hired house and received all that came in 
unto him.’’ (Acts 28:30, 31.) He began 
his ministry there a.p. 63, and for two years 
continued to teach ‘‘those things which con- 
cern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confi- 
dence, no man forbidding him.’’ 

In giving an account of his circumstances 
at this time he says, ‘‘I suffer trouble as an 
evil-doer even unto bonds: but the word of 

287 


288 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


God is not bound.”’ (2 Tim. 2:9.) He could 
always count on one hearer at least, namely, 
the soldier chained to his wrist: and we may 
be sure he preached the Gospel to him. 
There were other soldiers, too, who would 
be talking with one another over what Paul 
had to say. These men of the Roman army 
were recruited from all nations and lable 
to be sent at any moment to a remote part 
of the world; and certainly they would carry 
the Gospel with them. Besides, there were 
‘‘members of Cesar’s household,’’ that is, 
influential persons attached to the imperial 
service, who would naturally desire to hear 
Paul: and we are definitely informed that 
some of these were converted to Christ. 
(Phil. 4:22.) It is probable also that other 
citizens of Rome would be curious to inter- 
view a prisoner whose extraordinary learn- 
ing was everywhere spoken of. 

So Paul had no lack of an audience. And 
if there were any spare moments he knew 
how to fill them. Four of his weightiest 
Epistles were written during this imprison- 
ment, being dictated to some friendly aman- 
uensis and signed with a chained hand. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 289 


Those letters, like leaves of the tree of life, 
went fluttering out to the scattered churches 
and down the ages even to us. 

A busy parish, indeed, but a wearing one. 
Paul was now an old man, weary with a life- 
time of unremitting toil and burdened with 
‘oft infirmities.’”? A sick old man! And 
poor; for being unable to longer support 
himself by his trade as a tent-maker, he was, 
like Elijah by the brook Cherith, wholly de- 
pendent on the ravens of God. And the 
ravens did not fail him. 

In the city of Philippi, away in Mace- 
donia, the Christians heard that their old 
friend and minister was in need. What was 
to be done? A ‘‘donation party,’’ of course. 
They made up a purse and chose a trust- 
worthy man to carry it to him. Here is 
where Epaphroditus comes in. He was the 
messenger. In acknowledging the gift Paul 
Says: 


“T have all and abound: I am full, having received 
of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, 
an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well 
pleasing to God.” 


290-."; LIFE ANDIEE TTERS OR SPS PAUL 


On reaching Rome the messenger at once 
betook himself to the Preetorian camp. The 
last time he had seen Paul was probably five 
or six years before in Philippi, where the 
Christians kept the Passover with him. 
(Acts 20:6.) Itis safe to say that Epaphro- 
ditus was greatly moved by the change 
which the intervening years of toil and suf- 
fering had wrought upon his old friend. But 
no time was lost in condolences; the ques- 
tion was, how could he help him? It was 
not enough to relieve his physical wants; he 
needed some one to stand by him in his min- 
istry ; and this Epaphroditus resolved to do. 

He must have been a man of independent 
means: else how could he afford to make the 
long journey from Philippi to Rome and 
prolong his absence for an indefinite time? 
He must have remained with Paul for some 
months, probably more than a year — a long 
vacation for a man who was far from home 
and travelling at his own charges. But what 
a vacation it must have been for him; listen- 
ing to Paul’s ‘‘breathing thoughts in words 
that burn’’ and helping him in a hundred 
ways! 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS vine 


As the time drew near for his return a 
letter was written for him to carry back to 
the Philippian Church. In the beginning 
of this letter Paul says: 


“T thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 
always in every prayer of mine for you all making 
request with joy, for your fellowship in the Gospel 
from the first day until now.” 


And further on: 


“T supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphrodi- 
tus, my brother and companion in labor and fellow- 
soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to 
my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of 
heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been 
sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but 
God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but 
on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I 
sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see 
him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less 
sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with 
all gladness; and hold such in reputation: because 
for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not 
regarding his life, to supply your lack of service 
toward me.” 


By this we are given to understand (1) 
that Epaphroditus while at Rome was taken 


292 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


desperately ill, being ‘‘nigh unto death’’; 
(2) that his sickness was the result of his 
earnest devotion to ‘‘the work of Christ’’; 
(3) that he was homesick, ‘‘longing after 
you all’’; (4) that somehow his friends at 
Philippi were advised of his illness and 
were ‘‘sorrowful’’ on that account; (5) that 
when Epaphroditus heard of their sorrow 
he was ‘‘full of heaviness’’; (6) that his re- 
covery was due to a special ‘‘mercy’’; and 
(7) that as he was now returning to Phi- 
lippi, he and Paul with all his other friends 
would unite in thanksgiving to God. 

Now above all this, observe the threefold 
tribute which Paul pays to this man. 

I. He ealls him ‘‘my brother.’’ 

On a gravestone in a churchyard in Eng- 
land is a name followed by this brief inscrip- 
tion: ‘*The Friend of Milton.’’ What honor 
in those simple words; but how much more 
to have been a brother of Paul! We are all 
sons of God by creation; but alas! alienated 
through sin. Were it not for the interposi- 
tion of Christ we should be hopelessly dis- 
inherited; but through him we receive ‘‘the 
spirit of adoption whereby we ery Abba, 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 293 


Father’’; and so, being sons, we are also 
heirs, ‘‘heirs of God and joint-heirs with 
Christ to an inheritance incorruptible and 
undefiled and that fadeth not away.’’ 

Not only so, we are thus brought into a 
new relation with each other by virtue of 
which we rightly call ourselves ‘‘brethren.”’ 
All this through him who, by his sacrificial 
interest in our welfare, became the ‘‘ First- 
born among many brethren,’’ that is to say, 
the Elder Brother of all who believe in him. 

But Paul meant even more than this. For, 
as Christ himself had a special place in his 
heart for John, Peter and James, ‘‘the 
chosen three,’’ so we naturally come closer 
to some of our friends than to others. It is 
obvious that Epaphroditus, whose name 
means ‘‘lovable,’? had made for himself a 
singular place in Paul’s affection. How 
indeed could it have been otherwise, consid- 
ering that year of intimacy and mutual min- 
istry on the Palatine Hill? 

II. He also calls him ‘‘my companion in 
labor.”’ | | 

This must mean that he made himself use- 
ful in his ministry. Every pastor knows 


294 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


what a gracious and blessed thing it is to 
have the support and co-operation of the lay- 
men and lay-women of the parish. There 
are all sorts of people on the formal roll of 
every church; some of them recalcitrant. 
more of them smilingly indifferent, but 
others ‘‘ecompanions in labor.”’ 

In looking back over the fifty years of my 
ministry I pay tribute gratefully not only 
to my Elders and Deacons, but to many 
‘‘ministering women’ and _ oftentimes 
humble men who, like Aaron and Hur, have 
held up my hands in the heat and burden of 
the day. How could I ever have gone on 
without them ? 

In the gallery of the London Tabernacle 
a lone old woman used to sit, Sunday after 
Sunday, picking out a score of strange faces 
in the congregation for whom to pray during 
the week. Any one would have said she was 
past her usefulness: but when Spurgeon 
officiated at her funeral he gratefully re- 
ferred to her as his ‘‘best helper.’? Who 
knows how many souls she had prayed into 
the kingdom of God? 

ITI. Paul’s last word as to Epaphroditus 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 295 


is his best one: he calls him ‘‘my fellow- 
soldier.’’ | 

There is something pathetic in Paul’s fre- 
quent references to military service. He 
was himself the last man to be chosen as 
a soldier; but how ambitious he was to put 
on the whole armor of Christ and serve him 
in the high places of the field! And was 
ever a more gallant knight than he, or ever 
a more puissant defender of the faith? 

But they say, ‘‘The faith needs no de- 
fence; it can defend itself.’’ It is slackers 
who speak that way. Christians who make 
their influence tell are such as hold them- 
selves in readiness to maintain the truth 
with a kindly but uncompromising front 
against all comers. ‘‘Here I stand,”’ said 
Luther; ‘‘I cannot otherwise; God help 
me’’; and with his hammer on the Chapel 
door at Wittenberg he sent the thunders of 
the Reformation rolling around the world. 

Such a man was Paul; and in Epaphro- 
ditus he found a kindred spirit. In Rome 
they were under the shadow of the pagan 
gods. When God was blasphemed or the 
Cross reviled or the Scriptures assailed 


296 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


could these two co-workers in arms keep si- 
lence, think you? Nay, as ‘‘fellow-soldiers”’ 
they stood with shields overlapped and 
lances poised for the defence of truth and 
righteousness. 


O God, to us may grace be given 
To follow in their train! 


XT 
ONESIMUS: A SLAVE 


297 


Now a little before it was day good Christian, as 
one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech: 
“What a fool,” quoth he, “am I, thus to he in a dun- 
geon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a 
key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am 
persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.” Then 
said Hopeful, “That is good news; good brother, pluck 
it out of thy bosom and try.” 


298 


XI 
ONESIMUS: A SLAVE 


THE story of Onesimus is a melodrama in 
five scenes. 

Scene I. In the house of Philemon at 
Colosse, A.D. 56. 

For two years Paul had been preaching 
in Ephesus and the adjacent towns. One of 
these nearby towns was Colosse, where Paul 
made the acquaintance of Philemon, a 
weaver of prominence. It is quite possible 
that Paul, who made his living by the kin- 
dred trade of tentmaking, had applied to 
Philemon for work. In due time, almost as 
a matter of course, this weaver was con- 
verted to Christ. His wife Apphia and his 
son Archippus were baptized with him: and 
presently we hear of ‘‘the church in the 
house of Philemon,’’ which was destined to 
play an important part in subsequent events. 
In this house Paul was accustomed to hold 
divine service, with the family and neigh- 

299 


300 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


bors gathered about him. The slaves of 
Philemon were also present, of whom he 
probably had a considerable number en- 
gaged in his shop and warehouses. 

Get the picture in mind: Paul preaching 
in an open court; before him Philemon with 
his wife Apphia and his son Archippus; 
friends, neighbors and many slaves among 
whom was Onesimus, his face troubled and 
resentful. He was probably a captive of 
war, the Roman custom being to reduce all 
such to slavery. If so, his bitter heart was 
poor soil for Gospel seed. The injustice of 
his bonds rankled within him. He was at 
odds with fate, with his master and with 
God. 

Scene IT. In the Pretorian camp at 
Rome. A.D. 64. 

Hight years have passed. In the mean- 
time many things have happened. Paul had 
gone hither and yon on his missionary jour- 
neys, crossing deserts and climbing moun- 
tains to preach the Gospel of Christ. He 
had endured ‘‘perils of robbers, perils by his 
own countrymen, perils by the heathen, 
perus in the city, perils in the wilderness, 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 301 


perils in the sea.’’ He had known ‘‘wear1- 


ness and painfulness, hunger and thirst, 
fastings often, cold and nakedness.’’ He 
had been stoned more than once and had suf- 
fered shipwreck. Five times he had ‘‘re- 
ceived forty stripes save one.’’ He had 
tasted prison fare in many cities. He had 
spent two dreary years in the Castle at 
Cesarea; after which, falling back on his 
rights as a Roman citizen, he had made his 
appeal to Cesar. He had now reached 
Rome. Though a prisoner in the barracks 
he was allowed a certain measure of free- 
dom, being permitted to dwell in ‘‘his own 
hired house’’ and to receive his friends. 
One day a wretched man in rags and 
tatters came to visit him. He was worn and 
emaciated, with a hunted look in his eyes. 
It was the slave Onesimus, who had heard 
the Gospel in the house of Philemon so long 
ago. Paul received him, won his confidence 
and brought him to the saving knowledge of 
Christ. Then came his confession: he had 
escaped from his master and had made his 
way through danger and difficulty to Rome, 
a thousand miles away. It sounds like the 


302 ~~ LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST, PAUL 


stories we used to hear of negroes fleeing 
through the Dismal Swamp with blood- 
hounds baying behind them. The runaway 
had hoped, no doubt, to lose himself among 
the throngs of Rome; for there is no wilder- 
ness like a great city: but conscience pur- 
sued him. He confessed to Paul that he was 
not only a fugitive but a thief. He had 
robbed his master. How could he become 
a Christian with that frightful shadow over 
him? The advice of Paul was that he should 
at once return to his master and give him- 
self up. 

Scene III. On shipboard, somewhere on 
the Adriatic. 

The slave, in pursuance of Paul’s advice, 
has taken passage for Colosse. He carries 
with him a precious scroll, a letter addressed 
by Paul to his old master. He takes it from 
beneath the lapel of his cloak and reads it. 
Here it is.* | 


“Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ. and Timothy our 
brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker, 
and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow- 
soldier, and to the church in thy house: Grace to you 


* The Epistle to Philemon. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 303 


and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

I thank my God always, making mention of thee in 
my prayers, hearing of thy love and of the faith which 
thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the 
saints; that the fellowship of thy faith may become 
effectual in the knowledge of every good thing which 
is in you, unto Christ. For I had much joy and com- 
fort in thy love; because the hearts of the saints 
have been refreshed through thee, brother. 

Wherefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to 
enjoin thee that which is befitting, yet for love’s sake 
I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul the aged, 
and now a prisoner also of Christ Jesus. I beseech 
thee for my child whom I have begotten in my bonds, 
Onesimus, who once was unprofitable to thee, but now 
is profitable to thee and to me: whom I have sent 
back to thee in his own person, that is, my very 
heart: whom I would fain have kept with me, that 
in my behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds 
of the Gospel: but without thy mind I would do 
nothing: that thy goodness should not be as of neces- 
sity but of free will. For perhaps he was therefore 
parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have 
him for ever: no longer as a servant, but more than a 
servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how 
much rather to thee, both in the flesh and in the 
Lord. If then thou countest me a partner, receive 
him as myself. But if he hath wronged thee at all, 
or oweth thee aught, put that to mine account: I 


304 . LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Paul write it with mine own hand; I will repay it: 
that I say not unto thee that thou owest to me even 
thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have 
joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ. 

Having confidence in thine obedience I write unto 
thee, knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what I 
say. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I 
hope that through your prayers I shall be granted 
unto you. 

Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, 
saluteth thee: and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, 
Luke, my fellow-workers. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your 
spirit. Amen. 


This is, in some ways, the most remarx- 
able of all Paul’s letters. (1) Observe its 
brevity: only twenty-five verses. (2) Its 
courtesy: it has been ealled ‘‘the polite 
Epistle.’’ (8) Its rhetorical finish. Most 
of Paul’s letters are distinguished for 
strength and directness; this betrays the 
scholarly culture of a man who had gradu- 
ated from the University of Jerusalem. 
(4) It is the only one of his letters addressed 
to alayman. The others are either general, 
parochial or pastoral. (5) It was written 
with Paul’s own hand. In other cases he 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 305 


made use of an amanuensis; which was nec- 
essary not only by reason of his age and in- 
firmities but because he was a prisoner in 
bonds. Here, however, the writing is his 
very own; and his friendship for Philemon 
is emphasized by that fact. It is safe to say 
the lines were uncertain and the characters 
rude; but what would we not give to see that 
tremulous autograph, ‘‘I, Paul, with mine 
own hand”’; ‘‘The grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ be with your spirit.’’ 

In this letter Philemon is enjoined to re- 
ceive his former slave and forgive all. Not 
even the theft must be remembered against 
him. ‘‘If he hath wronged thee at all,’’ 
writes Paul, ‘‘or oweth thee aught, put that 
to mine account. IJ, Paul, write it with mine 
own hand; I will repay it.’’ This sounds 
like a promissory note; but considering the 
financial status of Paul it could scarcely be 
expected that he would ever pay it. He re- 
minds Philemon, however, that he has a run- 
ning account with him which he proposes to 
draw on: ‘‘That I say not unto thee that 
thou owest to me even thine own self be- 
sides.’’ But he engages that Onesimus shall 


306 ~ LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


make all possible restitution, saying, ‘‘He 
who was in time past unprofitable shall now 
be profitable unto thee.’’ Further still he 
enjoins Philemon to receive his slave no 
longer as a slave but as a fellow-Christian, 
saying, ‘‘If then thou countest me a partner, 
receive him as myself.’’ Onesimus had for- 
merly been a shiftless bondman; but hence- 
forth he was to be not only a ‘‘brother be- 
loved’’ but a profit-sharer in the service of 
Christ. Here verily is the Christian spirit; 
for in this fellowship there is neither Jew 
nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor 
free, but Christ is all in all. 

So runs the philosophy of the Gospel. 
Down go the artificial walls of caste! How 
hard it is for us to realize it! We are slow 
to admit that blood is thicker than water; 
and that in the atoning blood of Christ a kin- 
ship is created which bridges the gulf be- 
tween prince and peasant, between master 
and man, between the stately housewife and 
Cinderella at her kitchen fire. 

Scene IV. At the doorway of Philemon’s 
house in Colosse. 

The critical moment of the runaway’s life 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 307 


has come. He has been sustained thus far 
by a Power above his own; shall that Power 
now fail him? His heart is in his throat as 
he approaches Philemon’s house. He 
knocks; the door opens; he stands face to 
face with his old master. Of what is Phile- 
mon thinking, with that masterful look in 
his eyes? Of the bastinado? He takes the 
scroll and opens it. As he reads he changes 
countenance: the angry wrinkles are 
smoothed out; a warm hand is extended, 
‘‘Welcome, Onesimus, my brother in 
Christ !’’ 

So ends the story, like the ‘‘Mystery of 
Edwin Drood.’’ But tradition furnishes a 
sequel ; it says that Onesimus became a faith- 
ful toiler in the shop of Philemon; that he 
lived a consistent Christian life; that in later 
years he became pastor of the Colossian 
Church, and that he finally sealed his faith- 
fulness with martyrdom, going up to heaven 
in a chariot of fire. 

Scene V. At Heaven’s Gate. 

What a meeting between Master and 
slave! They have been together in glory for 
nineteen hundred years. How little now 


308 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


must seem all differences of birth, of culture 
and adventitious circumstance, such as once 
so widely separated them. 

There are two concluding thoughts that 
press upon us. One is, Progress is a fact. 

The slave-market in Rome was the indus- 
trial center of the world at the beginning of 
the Christian era. The imperial armies went 
forth to conquest and returned with long 
processions of captives who were then ex- 
posed for sale. There were only two thou- 
sand patricians or independent men in the 
city of Rome and half a million slaves. The 
auction block furnished the shops with 
toilers, the arena with gladiators and the 
brothels with inmates. These slaves lived 
like cattle in stalls or ergastule; and when 
they died they were thrown to the fishes or 
cast into pits. All this was horrible beyond 
words. God knew it; and he proposed to do 
away withit. But his ways are not our ways. 
Christ came into the world to break every 
chain and bid the oppressed go free. The 
Gospel is full of abolitionism; but not like 
that of John Brown of Osawatomie. There 
is more of patient love and less of battle in 
te 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 309 


The Kingdom of Heaven is hkened to 
leaven which works noiselessly but in due 
time leavens the lump. Our Lord set certain 
great principles in motion which were des- 
tined to bring about the desired result. He 
gave the world his Golden Rule: ‘‘Do unto 
others as ye would be done by.’’ How glori- 
ously that principle has been at work! We 
are told by scientists that leaven is a mass 
of living cells; that fermentation 1s not 
death and decay but a manifestation of life. 
So is God’s love in the world. God is love, 
and love is life. God has manifested himself 
in Christ, who said, ‘‘I am come that ye 
might have life and that ye might have it 
more abundantly.’’ His Gospel is love 
alive. Its influence is transforming the 
world. Men and nations are drawing closer 
together and seeing face to face and eye to 
eye. We may not precipitate the Golden 
Age; but we can lend a hand to bring it in. 
We can fall in with those who follow the 
conquering Christ and, by interpreting di- 
vine love in terms of practical life, we may 
hasten the coming of the time when all alike 
shall enter into the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 


310 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


The world has been drawing nearer and 
nearer to the brotherhood of man as it has 
learned more and more of the Fatherhood 
of God. All civilization is to-day embraced 
within the charmed circle which we eall 
Christendom; and of the nations within its 
bounds there is not one which tolerates 
slavery. ‘‘He that believeth shall not make 
haste.’’ 

The other concluding thought is of the 
transforming power of the Gospel. 

In Luther’s exposition of this Scripture 
he says ‘‘We are all Onesimi’’; by which I 
suppose he means that we are all fugitives 
from justice; ‘‘for there is no difference; 
all have sinned and come short of the glory 
of God.’’ Weare runaways from truth and 
duty, from conscience and from God: and 
by the mediation of Christ we are brought 
back and reconciled. Christ stands for us 
at the bar of offended Justice; and the plea 
which he there makes is the very same that 
Paul made for Onesimus; to wit, ‘‘If this 
man hath wronged thee or oweth thee aught, 
put that to mine account. I, Christ, with 
mine own hand: I will repay it.”’ 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS ul! 


Nor is that all. He proposes to recon- 
struct us; so that whereas we have been un- 
profitable servants we may now be profitable 
unto God. He turns us right about face. 
He regenerates us by his Spirit; so that ‘‘old 
things are passed away; behold, all things 
are become new.’’ He who truly submits 
himself to the power of Christ gets a new 
mind, a new heart, a new conscience and a 
new will. Is there any power on earth ex- 
cept the Gospel which can do that? We 
speak of the mystery of regeneration; but 
however mysterious it may be there is no 
denying it. The miracle is constantly going 
on. How often have we seen a drunkard 
taken out of the gutter and set upon his feet 
by the grace of God! How often have we 
seen a forlorn woman taken out of her shame 
and restored to character and self-respect 
by the Gospel! We may not be able to ex- 
plain it; but there it is. 

Blessed be God for his unspeakable gift! 









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XIT 
SOSTHENES: “MY BROTHER” 


313 


After this it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant- 
for-truth was taken with a summons by the same post 
as the other, and had this for a token that the sum- 
mons was true; that his “pitcher was broken at the 
fountain.” When he understood it he called for his 
friends and told them of it. Then said he, “I am 
going to my Father’s; and though with great diffi- 
culty I have got hither, yet now I do not repent me of 
all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. 
My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my 
pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can 
get it.” 


314 


XIT 
SOSTHENES: “MY BROTHER” 


WE have only two passing references to 
this man. But we remember that it was a 
pair of faint footprints in the sand that gave 
Robinson Crusoe a companion in his lone- 
liness and changed the desolate island of 
Juan Fernandez into a Republic. 

The first reference to Sosthenes is in the 
year 54, in connection with Paul’s second 
missionary journey. On reaching Corinth 
the apostle settled down to an evangelistic 
campaign which lasted a year and a half. 
He began preaching in the synagogue, per- 
suading the Jews that ‘‘this Jesus is the 
Christ.’’ The master of the synagogue, by 
name Crispus, was converted and — losing 
his position, of course — was succeeded by 
Sosthenes, who appears to have been a de- 
voted Jew. 


315 


316 ~LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


This was the beginning of trouble. Paul 
was driven out of the synagogue and made 
his headquarters ‘‘hard by’’ in the house of 
one Justus, where many Gentiles were con- 
verted during eighteen months of Paul’s 
‘‘teaching the word of God among them.”’ 
This led to the arrest of Paul on a 
trumped-up charge; and, inasmuch as Sos- 
thenes was in court and conspicuous there 
as the ruler of the synagogue, there is good 
eround for assuming that he was the com- 
plainant in the case. The proceedings are 
recorded thus: 

“And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the 
Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, 
and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, This 
fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to 
the law. And when Paul was now about to open his 
mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter 
of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would 
that I should bear with you: but if it be a question 
of words and names and of your law, look ye to it; 


for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave 
them from the judgment seat.” 


This afforded the Gentiles an occasion for 
venting their spleen against the despised 
Jews, of which they took immediate advan- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 317 


tage by beating Sosthenes ‘‘before the judg- 
ment seat.’”’ 

It is safe to say that Sosthenes crept away 
from that disorderly court with a bitter 
heart that day: but possibly the beating 
which he there received was the best thing 
that could have happened to him. It may 
have turned his thoughts toward Paul as a 
fellow-sufferer and moved him toward a 
more reasonable view of the Gospel. This 
is one of the important uses of adversity. 
Simon of Cyrene might never have become a 
Christian but for the fact that the mob on 
Via Dolorosa seized upon him and ‘‘com- 
pelled him to bear the ecross.’’ Luther was 
converted by the sudden and violent death 
of a companion. Many a prodigal has been 
brought to his senses by a famine in the 
land. | 


“Blest be the sorrow, kind the storm 
That drives us nearer home.” 


In any case, something must have oc- 
curred to reverse the attitude of Sosthenes 
toward Christ; for the next and only time 
we hear of him is five years later, a.p. 59, 


318. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


where he appears as a companion of Paul. 
The First Epistle to the Corinthians, which 
was written at Philippi in that year, begins 
thus: 


Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through 
the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the 
church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are 
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with 
all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus 
Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto 
you, and peace from God our Father and from the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 


If this was the same Sosthenes — and I 
see no reason for thinking otherwise — he 
had followed many of his coreligionists into 
the conclusion that ‘‘this Jesus is the 
Christ.’”” The man whom Paul could eall 
his ‘‘brother’’ must have been very near to | 
him. Could it possibly mean that Paul, so 
strenuous in maintaining his own dignity as 
an apostle, was prepared to receive this man 
into the fraternity of ‘‘the Apostolic succes- 
sion’’? If to be an apostle is to be ‘‘a sent 
one,’’ then all who go in pursuance of the 
Great Commission are apostles by divine 
right. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 519 


However that may be, it certainly means 
that Sosthenes was a yoke-fellow of Paul’s 
in the service of Christ; else how could he 
yoke up with him in a greeting ‘‘to them that 
are called and sanctified in Christ Jesus’’! 
For to what are we ‘‘called’’ but to his serv- 
ice; and unto what are we ‘‘sanctified’’ but 
the holiness that expresses itself in loyalty 
to him? 

But ‘‘my brother’’ means more even than 
that; 1t designates the closest tie of personal 
friendship. No man ever craved friendship 
more than Paul; his letters are heavy with 
loneliness whenever no comrade is beside 
him. The handclasp was everything to him. 

If a single lesson only is to be drawn from 
the brief monograph of this man, let it be 
The Importance of Friendship mm the Chris- 
tian Infe. “‘T'wo are better than one: . . . 
for if they fall, the one will lift up his fel- 
low: but woe to him that is alone when he 
falleth, for he hath not another to help him 
Up? 

A youth on coming to the city is naturally 
disposed to clasp hands with almost anybody 
who greets him in a friendly way. It is so 


320 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


lonely in this populous wilderness that the 
first comer is likely to be first served. Yet 
what immeasurable possibilities of good or 
evil influences are in that first handclasp! 
Character, usefulness, happiness, even eter- 
nal destiny may be wrapped up in it. 

A man once bought a parrot of a sea- 
captain and found to his horror that it had 
contracted the habit of swearing. In the 
hope of reforming it he borrowed from a 
pious neighbor another parrot that had been 
taught to say its prayers. The natural thing 
came to pass; both parrots were presently 
engaged in a vigorous competition of pro- 
Lani yan 7 

It is searcely necessary to say that the 
friend who is to be ‘‘my brother’’ must be in 
sympathy with me in the important plans 
and purposes of my life. ‘‘Can two walk 
together except they be agreed ?’’ My friend 
must have tastes and ambitions like mine; 
else he cannot be truly responsive to me. We 
must be agreed as to the underlying prin- 
ciples of life. Sympathy suggests the mag- 
net; antipathy, the repulsion of the negative 
pole. T’'wo persons who are antipathetic 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 321 


may get on comfortably as long as they keep 
their distance; but they are mutually repel- 
lant at close quarters. 

This is the reason why no Christian can 
wisely strike hands in a covenant of friend- 
ship with one who denies the truth of the 
Gospel, which is the very heart and center 
of his life. To the one Christ is all in all; 
to the other He hath no form nor comeliness 
and there is no beauty that he should desire 
Him. 

It is recorded in the biography of John 
Angell James that at the age of thirteen he 
was taken out of school and apprenticed to 
a linen-draper. On the first night, on being 
assigned to a dormitory with other appren- 
tices, he waited anxiously as they were re- 
tiring to see whether there were any Chris- 
tians among them. He seemed to be the only 
one. All went to bed without saying their 
prayers; and he, lacking the courage that 
makes heroes, followed the fashion. This 
continued for a fortnight, when an incident 
occurred that changed the whole tenor of his 
hfe. A new apprentice came who, on retir- 
ing, knelt down beside his bed; and little 


322 LIFE AND LETTERS OF STSPAUL 


John did likewise. That was the beginning 
of a lifelong friendship. ‘‘I shall always 
bless God,’’ he wrote, ‘‘for the friendship 
of Charley B.’’ Happy is the Christian 
youth who, in ike manner, finds a kindred 
spirit and ‘‘grapples him to his soul with 
hooks of steel.’’ 

One Friend there is who stands the test of 
all ordeals and is faithful unto death — aye, 
and beyond it. Heisa Friend ‘‘that sticketh 
closer than a brother.’’. The proof of his 
fidelity has been put to the utmost strain 
and endured it. 

The friendship of Jonathan for his rustic 
friend David was effectively tried and ap- 
proved when he left the palace and went 
out after David, then an exile hunted like a 
partridge among the hills, and ‘‘sought him 
in the wood.’”’ This is precisely what Christ 
did for us in our extremity; when there was 
no eye to pity and no arm to help, He 
‘sought us in the wood.’’ He made bare 
His arm in our behalf, befriended us, took 
our burden upon Him, died to save us. He 
is a friend in all sorts of weather. His prom- 


ise 1s, ‘‘I will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee. ”’ 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 323 


Blest friendship of Jesus! It stands all 
tests, endures all trials, triumphs over death 
itself and lasts forever. He is the ‘‘first- 
born among many brethren,’’ the Elder 
Brother of us all. A friend so true has 
reason to expect fidelity in us. 


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saad 


“Come a little way with me, and I will teach thee 
about the way thou must go. Look before thee; dost 
thou see this narrow way? It was cast up by the 
patriarchs, prophets, Christ and the apostles, and it 
is as straight as a rule can make it. This is the way 
thou must go.” 


326 


XIII 
TITUS: “MY PARTNER” 


Pau had a warm place in his heart for 
earnest youth. Three of his most faithful 
helpers were young men. There was John 
Mark, son of the widow Mary of Jerusalem; 
who set out with Paul on his first missionary 
journey and, after flinching in the face of 
danger, recovered himself and became as 
unswervingly true as steel. Then Timothy, 
‘‘the gentle youth of Lystra,’’ who was 
chosen to be Paul’s courier on his second 
journey, his suecessor in the pastorate of 
the Ephesian Church and his ‘‘true yoke- 
fellow’’ to the very end. And now comes 
Titus, who by reason of his singular tact, 
good judgment and unfailing courage was 
selected for many difficult tasks. 

John Mark was a Jew by lineage; Tim- 
othy was of mixed blood, his father a Greek, 
and his mother a Jewess; but Titus was an 

327 


328 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


unadulterated pagan (Gal. 2:3), brought up 
to worship the Olympian gods. 

He was one of Paul’s converts. This 1s 
indicated by the words ‘‘mine own son”’ 
(Titus 1:4). Paul was foster-father to all 
the young men referred to: and there is no 
tie of consanguinity so close and tender as 
that which binds the brought soul to the 
bringer. There is an anticipation of the 
very joy of heaven in it. 

I. The first mention of Titus is in con- 
nection with the Council at Jerusalem in 
the year 92. 

This was just after the first missionary 
journey; when the mother church at Jeru- 
salem was insisting that Gentile converts 
must become proselytes to Judaism and sub- 
mit to the requirements of the Levitical law, 
as a sort of half-way house on the way to a 
Christian profession. Paul, as the apostle 
to the Gentiles, felt called upon to champion 
their rights. It was this that took him to the 
Council at Jerusalem. He was accompanied 
by Barnabas his colleague and Titus (Gal. 
2:1-5). There was a special reason for 
taking Titus with him, as we shall see. 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS ahd 


At this far distance it is scarcely possible 
to realize the vital issues that were involved 
in the conclusions of that early Council. A 
candle was lighted there which was destined 
to throw its beams along all the succeeding 
ages. The question under discussion was 
centered on Titus; who, as it appears, de- 
manded admission to the Church on the sole 
condition of faith. He stood on his two 
feet as the original Non-conformist, declin- 
ing to yield an inch to the Judaizers who as 
Paul says ‘‘sought to bring us into bond- 
age.’’ All praise to the courage of this 
young man! Let him line up with Luther 
in the great protest, ‘‘Here I stand; I can- 
not otherwise; God help me!’”’ For the note 
that rang out in that Council was the very 
same that fifteen centuries later was des- 
tined to await the dormant religious world; 
namely, the doctrine of Justification by 
Faith, which was then characterized as ‘‘the 
article of a standing or a falling church.’’ 

II. The next appearance of Titus was 
eight years later, 4.p. 60. A year before this 
Paul had written his First Epistle to the 
Corinthians; which is the severest of his let- 


330 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


ters. In his absence the members of the Cor- 
inthian Chureh had fallen into evil ways. 
They had separated into parties, saying ‘‘I 
am of Paul,’’ and ‘‘I of Apollos’’ and ‘‘I of 
Cephas.’’ Moreover, many had been led 
away by false teachers into all manner of 
fantastic heresies: while still others had 
drifted back into complicity with the wor- 
ship of false gods. One man in particular, 
evidently an influential member of the 
church, was known to be living in shameless 
sin and yet nothing had been done. No won- 
der Paul’s letter was filled with burning 
words of reproof. No wonder, either, 
that it stirred up a great commotion in 
the Corinthian Church. So hot was the 
indignation of the people there against Paul 
that it really looked as if they would have 
nothing more to do with him. 

What was to be done? It was useless for 
Paul to think of going to Corinth in his own 
behalf, since no welcome would await him. 
He might send some one to represent him, 
if only a man of sufficient tact, firmness and 
sound judgment could be found. Titus 
proved to be that man. He went to Corinth 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS Soi 


and remained long enough to restore faith, 
harmony and discipline among the church 
members there. 

Meanwhile Paul was carrying on an evan- 
eeclistic campaign in Ephesus. He had ar- 
ranged to meet Titus at T'roas on his return 
from Corinth, and took pains to be there 
at the appointed time: but there were no 
signs of Titus. He improved the time, how- 
ever, by preaching and with signal success. 
‘‘A great and effectual door’’ was open be- 
fore him (2 Cor. 2:12, 13), but so anxious 
was he to hear from Corinth that he had ‘‘no 
rest in his spirit.’’ He set out accordingly 
to find Titus. This is the only occasion, so 
far as the record goes, when Paul ever failed 
to enter an open door. 

A happy surprise awaited him. On meet- 
ing with Titus he learned that all the diffi- 
culties in Corinth had been satisfactorily ar- 
ranged, and that the Christians there had 
settled down to fraternal co-operation in 
service. The news was so far beyond what 
Paul had expected or hoped for (‘‘What 
sorrow of a godly sort, what earnest care, 
yea, what clearing of yourselves, what fear, 


332) | LIF CAN DILEDTERS ORs Ue PAUL 


what indignation, what longing, what zeal, 
what avenging!’’) that he immediately sat 
down and wrote another letter, the Second 
HKpistle to the Corinthians, which is as loving 
and congratulatory as the former Epistle 
was reproachful and severe. 

The credit for this happy adjustment of 
affairs at Corinth was, under God, most 
largely due to Titus, who as Paul’s inter- 
mediary had shown himself a diplomatist of 
singular ability. The way was now clear for 
the apostle to carry on his evangelistic work 
without let or hindrance. ‘‘I am filled with 
comfort,’’ he writes, ‘‘I am exceeding joy- 
ful. God hath greatly comforted me by the 
coming of Titus.’’ Elsewhere he speaks in 
more enthusiastic terms; ‘‘Thanks be unto 
God who always causeth us to triumph in 
Christ!’’ Old, weary and burdened with 
oft infirmities, he deems himself, in this new 
evidence of sustaining grace, a very con- 
querer, bringing new conquests to the glory 
of God. 

But this was not all that Titus had accom- 
plished at Corinth. While Paul was jour- 
neying hither and yon among the Gentiles, 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS Oe. 


his fellow-countrymen at Jerusalem were 
suffering from famine; and wherever he 
went he besought the Gentile Christians to 
honor the broad-minded fellowship of the 
Gospel by contributing to their need. The 
Corinthians had thus far made an inade- 
quate response to his appeal; but the report 
of Titus encouraged Paul to renew that ap- 
peal with greater urgency. ‘‘Now he that 
ministereth seed to the sower increase the 
fruits of your righteousness.’? Whether 
they complied or not is another matter; but 
certainly Titus had opened the way for an 
enlargement of their hearts. One thing is 
clear; he believed, as all Christians should, 
that ‘‘social service,’’ while not the primary 
function of the Church, must ever go hand 
in hand with the winning of souls. 

III. The next we hear of Titus is five years 
later (A.D. 65) in the island of Crete. Mean- 
while Paul had been arrested and confined as 
a prisoner in the Pretorian camp at Rome. 
On being brought to trial before Nero he 
was ‘‘delivered out of the mouth of the 
lion.’’ (2 Tim. 4:16, 17.) When released he 
at once prepared for another missionary 


334, LIFE ANDI LETTERS‘ OP STs PAUL 


journey. The ship on which he and his com- 
panions sailed touched at the island of Crete, 
where a few unorganized believers were 
making a brave struggle to maintain their 
Christian life. The people there were no- 
torious for lying, indolence and sensuality: 
which was all the more reason why the Chris- 
tians among them must be cared for. But 
who, in that little group of missionaries, 
could be trusted with so difficult a field? 
Who but Titus? No doubt the parting cost 
a wrench; but he was left behind, and the 
ship sailed on. 

On reaching Nicopolis the old apostle was 
constrained to rest a while; and he took the 
oceasion to write a letter of instruction and 
encouragement to the young minister in his 
hard parish (the Epistle to Titus). Here 
ends the record of Paul. It was probably in 
Nicopolis that he was rearrested and carried 
back to Rome where, after a brief confine- 
ment in the Mammertine jail, he was led 
forth to his execution under the walls. 

IV. But we have one more reference to — 
Titus, though brief and incidental. While 
Paul was in the Mammertine awaiting his 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 335 


second trial he wrote a letter to Timothy in 
which he begged him to come. Listen to 
the lonely old man: ‘‘Do thy diligence to 
come shortly unto me. Only Luke (the ever 
faithful physician) is with me. Demas hath 
forsaken me; having loved this present 
world. (Poor Demas; this is‘all we know 
about him.) Crescens is gone to Galatia (on 
a necessary errand, no doubt, and Titus 
nLOmWalmeatiea (2 sDime, 42 907105) 

To Dalmatia — a pagan country up among 
the dangerous hills on the border of the 
Adriatic Sea! Why there? Had the wan- 
derlust of Paul taken possession of him? 
Was he gone upon a mission of salvation to 
souls in the regions beyond? If so, all the 
blessings of the Lord go with him! So shall 
he best perpetuate the influence of his worn- 
out captain. 

One word more before we part company 
with this young man. The word in Greek 
is koinonos, which our translators have aptly 
rendered ‘‘partner’’; that is a yokefellow 
and profit-sharer in one’s business. Now 
listen to Paul: ‘‘If any do inquire of Titus, 
he is my partner.’’ (2 Cor. 8:23.) Great 


336 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


eredentials! Of no other of his companions 
does he speak in that way. 

And it meant more than to be partner with 
Paul; for to join hands with Christ’s work- 
men is to be partner with Christ himself in 
labor of love and patience of hope. The 
time may come when we shall hear further 
of Titus’ mission to Dalmatia: in the mean- 
time let us give heed to the injunction, ‘‘In 
the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening 
withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not 
whether shall prosper, either this or that’’; 
and let us rest in the promise, ‘‘He that 
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious 
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoic- 
ing, bringing his sheaves with him.”’ 


XIV, 


PHGBE: THE ‘“‘DEACONESS’” 


337 


Then they told him of Mercy, and how she had 
leit her town and her kindred to come along with 
Christiana and with her sons. -At that the old honest 
man said, “Mercy is thy name: by mercy shalt thou 
be sustained and carried through all those difficulties 
that shall assault thee in thy way.” 


338 


XIV 
PH@BE: THE ‘‘DEACONESS” 


It will be remembered that Paul on his 
second missionary journey stopped at Cor- 
inth for an evangelistic campaign of a year 
and a half. There were many converts to 
show for it; among them such notable ones 
as Aquila and Priscilla, Crispus the ruler of 
the synagogue and Sosthenes his successor, 
Justus in whose house Paul preached after 
being driven out of the synagogue and Gaius 
‘‘mine host,’’ evidently an influential man. 

Just across the narrow isthmus, not ten 
miles from Corinth, lay the busy seaport 
town of Cenchrea, where Paul probably 
preached as in other suburban places. Pres- 
ently (A.D. 55) a church was organized 
there, and Phoebe became a member of it. 

Five years later Paul was again in Cor- 
inth and while there wrote his Epistle to 
the Romans; an inspired masterpiece of 
logie which struck the keynote of orthodoxy 

339 


340 .LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


for the universal church through all the sue- 
ceeding ages. It chanced that Phoebe was 
just then meditating a journey to Rome and 
the conveying of this Epistle was entrusted 
to her. 

The last chapter of the Epistle is devoted 
to salutations: it begins thus: 


“T commend unto you Phebe our sister, who is a 
servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: that ye 
receive her in the Lord as becometh saints, and that 
ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of 
you: for she hath been a succorer of many, and of 
myself also.” 


By this it would appear, first, that Phoebe 
was a woman of some consequence, since she 
had planned a long journey on business of 
her own: second, that she was prominent as 
‘fa servant’’ in the affairs of the Cenchrean 
church. Third, that she held an official po- 
sition of some sort connected with the relief 
of the poor. The Greek word here rendered 
‘‘succorer’’ is prostatis, literally, one who 
stands by in case of need. In classical Greek 
the word was used of the trainer in the 
Olympic games, who stood by the athletes to 
see that they were properly trained and not 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 341 


overtrained and rightly girded when they 
lined up for the signal. 

In my first parish I had a Board of Dea- 
cons who were willing but comparatively in- 
efficient, owing to the fact that their access 
to the mothers and children who needed 
assistance was greatly limited in the neces- 
sity of the case. We solved the difficulty by 
appointing two women to supplement their 
work; with the result not only that the inner- 
most places of needy homes were made 
accessible, but that the Deacons themselves 
were greatly helped and encouraged, and 
that the Diaconate was no longer ‘‘a fifth 
wheel,’’ but a most efficient arm of the 
church service. That was forty years ago; 
and the plan continues in that parish to this 
day. 

By this brief reference to Phoebe we are 
moved to a consideration of the position of 
women generally in the Christian Church. 

It is a singular fact — and unaccountable 
without a due regard to the divine origin of 
Christianity — that the only countries where 
womanhood is duly honored are those em- 
braced within the charmed circle known as 


342 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


‘‘Christendom,”’ that is, such as are under 
the luminous shadow of the Cross. 

The first of the Messianic prophecies, 
uttered at the gateway of Paradise imme- 
diately after the fall, announced that the 
coming Christ was to be ‘‘the seed of wo- 
man’’; and in the fulness of time ‘‘the Lord 
of all good Christians was of a woman 
born.’’ By that supernatural birth all wo- 
manhood was honored. 

“And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, 
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour; for 
he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. 
For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall 


call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to 
me great things; and holy is his name!’ ” 


In the ministry of Jesus he constantly ana 
consistently honored the ‘‘ministering wo- 
men’’ who attended upon him and served 
him in manifold ways. Compare his atti- 
tude with that of Mohammed, whose Surah 
on womanhood in the Koran is entitled. 
‘‘The Cow,’’? and whose heaven is peopled 
with harems of houris for men. Or compare 
it with the treatment of women in India, 
where a woman’s only hope of heaven is in 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 343 


the remote contingency that some time, in 
the endless circle of transmigrations, she 
may chance to be born a man! 

The attitude of the apostles in this partic- 
war was like that of their Master. Read 
again the story of John’s foster-care of the 
bereaved mother of Jesus, in John 19: 25-27. 
Read of the many services rendered by wo- 
men to Paul in his missionary work and his 
grateful tributes to them. 

At this point it is likely that some one is 
thinking of what Paul said to the women of 
Corinth and Ephesus about the shame of 
worshipping ‘‘with their heads unveiled”’ 
(1 Cor. 11:5) and about ‘‘keeping silence”’ 
in the churches. (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2: 
11, 12.) Let it be remembered, however, 
that in Ephesus there were thousands of so- 
called ‘‘priestesses’’ whose persons were con- 
secrated to the licentious worship of the 
Olympian gods, that thousands of women of 
like character were devoted to ‘‘great Diana 
of the Ephesians,’’ and that their abomina- 
ble calling was advertised by their uncov- 
ered heads and their vociferous part in the 
temple rites; and Paul’s words will appear 


344 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


in amore reasonable light. The veil of mod- 
esty is the peculiar adornment of a Christian 
woman. 

In the Gospel she has a blessed opportu- 
nity of serving in three distinct coigns of 
vantage. 

The first is the home. God be praised for 
the Christian home! What a realm for a 
queen! ‘‘Wife,’’ ‘‘mother,’’ ‘‘daughter,’’ 
‘‘sister’? — what sacred memories gather 
around those words in Christian lands! It 
1s so everywhere. An American tourist and 
his Turkish dragoman were once passing 
through Cairo when an old woman spoke to 
the dragoman, who immediately turned 
and spat in her face. In answer to the 
American’s remonstrance he said, ‘‘ Pooh, 
what should I do? She’s my mother!’’ 
Would that be possible, think you, in any 
country where the Gospel holds sway ? 

The second of the peculiar spheres of use- 
fulness open to women in Christian lands is 
Charity. Who shall do justice to their ‘‘la- 
bor of love and patience of hope’’? There 
was a woman, back in the time of the Cri- 
mean war, who used to make her way at 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 345 


night among the wounded with a lamp in 
hand, administering ‘‘first aid’’ to suffering 
bodies and souls. J can remember seeing her 
picture and under it the familiar name by 
which the grateful soldiers knew her, ‘‘The 
Lady with the Lamp.’’ How many such 
ministering women there have been; how 
many under the blessed shadow of the Red 
Cross in these last days! 

The third and most important sphere of 
woman’s work is in the Church: sometimes 
as deaconesses; more frequently as ‘* proph- 
etesses’’ or Biblical teachers, like the 
daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9). The Sun- 
day Schools of Christendom are (strange 
word!) manned by women. And what shall 
be said of their efficiency in the great mis- 
slonary propaganda at home and abroad? 
The mothers and daughters in the zenanas 
of the Orient are accessible to their devoted 
‘‘succorers’’; many have been their con- 
quests for Christ. ‘‘Give them of the fruit 
of their hands, and let their own works 
‘praise them in the gates!”’ 

Now, behold, I show unto you a great mys- 
tery. In view of all the foregoing how is it 


346 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


that any thoughtful woman in this land of 
light can refrain from loving and serving 
Christ! The most seemly tributes she can 
pay in return for his benefactions are 
neither tears of remembrance nor spices for 
his anointing, but the gold and myrrh and 
frankincense of grateful love and devotion. 
So let all the women of Israel, like Mary of 
Magdala, fall down before him with the cry 
“Rabbom! my Master!’’ 


DAV 
A BODY GUARD 


347 


“This book will make a traveler of thee, 
If by its counsel thou wilt ruléd be.” 


JOHN BUNYAN 


348 


XV 
A BODY GUARD 


Pauwt set out on his third missionary jour- 
ney in the year 53. On reaching Ephesus he 
found a field ripe for the sickle and re- 
mained three years. He then pushed on by 
easy stages to Corinth, where he spent three 
fruitful months. He was now forty-seven 
years of age and physically a worn man. 
This was perhaps the reason for his assem- 
bling a group of trusty friends to accompany 
him from then on. (Acts 20: 1-4.) 

To begin with, there was faithful Tim- 
othy, his spiritual son. The next was So- 
pater, a native of Berea and therefore | 
probably a Biblical expert. Then Secundus 
of Thessalonica, of whom we know nothing 
more. The next, Tychicus, was destined to 
prove himself a faithful companion and 
efficient servitor in many ways. (Hph. 
6221; Col.4: 7:2. Tim. 4:12.) JDropigms 
was soon obliged to drop out of the company, 
being left behind at Miletus sick. (2 Tim. 

349 


350 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


4:20.) Old Gaius of Derb had been bap- 
tized by Paul (1 Cor. 1:14) and never for- 
got it. He showed his gratitude not only by 
entertaining Paul but by suffering with and 
for him. (Acts 19:29). And finally there 
was Aristarchus of Thessalonica, a fellow- 
sufferer (Acts 19:29): who was with Paul 
on his last eventful voyage (Acts 27:2) and 
shared the hardships of his weary imprison- 
ment at Rome. (Col. 4:10; Philemon 24.) 

I. Observe that these seven were nobodies, 
that is, their achievements were not in the 
lime-light. Practically all that we know of 
them is that they were associated with Paul 
in missionary work. But that is enough. 
Their virtues and accomplishments are re- 
corded in heaven. ‘‘The Master praises: 
what are men?”’ 3 

II. Observe how Paul, in gathering this 
gsroup of helpers about him, anticipated one 
of the most important conclusions of our 
modern Missionary Boards, namely, the 
Value of the Phalanx. 

Time was when men, and occasionally wo- 
men, went out all alone with their message 
to the regions beyond; but never now. Ex- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 351 


perience has taught the importance of (to 
use a good old word now obsolete) ‘‘opitu- 
lation.’’ 

Little wonder that Paul’s heart sank 
within him when, standing alone in the mar- 
ket-place of Athens, he beheld on every side 
the evidences of ‘‘a city wholly given to idol- 
atry’’: little wonder: that he longed ‘‘for 
Silas and Timotheus to come to him with all 
speed.’’ By the time he was ready to pur- 
sue his third missionary journey he had 
come to fully realize the importance of havy- 
ing a competent staff of helpers. They ad- 
vanced to their work like a Spartan phalanx, 
shoulder to shoulder, with shields over- 
lapped: and their co-operation yielded a 
harvest which could never have been gath- 
ered from the seed-sowing of a lone man. 

A group of young Christians at Oxford 
sot together at the flood-tide of infidelity 
two hundred years ago for mutual prayer 
and conference. They were dubbed ‘‘The 
Holy Club’’; but in spite of the jeering op- 
position of their fellow-students they went 
right on. And how far that little candle 
threw its beams! At graduation they 


352\' LIFE-AND«<VEFTTERS ON ST “PAUL 


parted for their several ways; but the tie 
that bound George Whitefield and the Wes- 
ley brothers and four other members of the 
Holy Club was never broken. Out of that 
little group issued radiating lines of sanc- 
tified power that eventuated in the organiza- 
tion of the great Methodist Church, whose 
lines have since gone forth into all the 
world! 

In the middle of the last century a few 
students in one of our Theological Semi- 
naries, hearing of the desperate need of the 
Gospel on our Western frontiers, organized 
what they called ‘‘The Dakota Band,”’ 
pledging themselves to home missions. On 
eraduating they turned their faces toward 
the destitute fields of the Dakotas, keeping 
up a round-robin of mutual prayer; and 
to-day hundreds of cross-tipped spires pay 
tribute to their joint faithfulness. The 
Dutch have a true saying, Hen dracht maakt 
macht: ‘in union there is strength.”’ 

III. But after all observe how the con- 
straint of duty rests on the lone man. Each 
for himself must determine how far and how 
faithfully he wil! meet the behest of the 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS 353 


Master, ‘‘Go, evangelize!’’ It is the busi- 
ness of all businesses for those who are in 
covenant with him. Not ministers only, but 
Christians all and several, are bound to heed 
it 

‘‘T’m going to China,”’ said a young girl in 
my congregation fifteen years ago. ‘‘But,”’ 
said I, ‘‘wouldn’t it be better to wait a while 
and prepare yourself?’’ She answered, ‘‘I 
can’t wait, because they can’t wait. For 
want of the Gospel they are going out into 
the dark! I know I’m not educated; but I 
know what they don’t know, that Christ died 
for them; and I must go and tell them about 
it.”’ I had my doubts then; but I have none 
now. On my study table is a picture of a 
woman worker in the China Inland Mis- 
sion with a group of young converts gath- 
ered about her. ‘‘The end crowns the 
work.’’? I know now that Miss Jennie Wil- 
liams did better to follow the Lord’s counsel 
than mine. His way is always the right way. 

In one of my classes at Princeton Semi- 
nary was a young man with a consuming 
zeal for missions. He enlisted to go to In- 
dia. The day before his graduation he said 


354 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


to his classmates, ‘‘If it be the Lord’s will I 
should like to spend forty years in giving 
the Gospel to the heathen; and then if he 
wants me [’ll be ready to go.’’ He sailed 
with his young wife and reached his desti- 
nation just as a native insurrection broke 
out. The next day he fled with other mis- 
sionaries to a near-by cave, where three days 
afterward they were overtaken by the mob 
and all cruelly slain. He had asked for 
forty years of service: only a scant four 
days were given him! But who shall meas- 
ure the outcome of those four days? When 
his story was told in the Seminary a dozen 
students were ready to take his place. ‘‘The 
worker dies, but the work goes on.’’ Let us 
rather say that because the work goes on 
the worker never dies. His influence sur- 
vives him, like the song of the reaper that 
Wordsworth heard at evening: 
“T listened till I had my fill; 
And as I struggled up the hill 


The music in my soul I bore 
Long after it was heard no more.” 


The lesson that we get from the little 
group of untrumpeted ones who accompa- 


PAUL’S COMPANIONS oa) 


nied Paul on his third journey is the blessed- 
ness and imperativeness of the Great Com- 
mission. It may be that some inconspicuous 
Sopater or Secundus now reading these lines 
is asking ‘‘What can I do?’’ If so let him 
(or her) frame that question a little differ- 
ently and send it upward instead of inward, 
as Paul did, ‘‘ Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do?’’ And the answer will surely be 
forthcoming. The way to the foreign field 
is not open to all; but no one is exempt from 
the obligation of missions. A missionary 
is literally ‘‘a sent one.’’ Jesus said to his 
disciples, ‘‘As the Father hath sent me, even 
so send I you.’’ What for? ‘‘T’o seek and 
to save.’’ So then as followers of Christ we 
all belong to the Life-saving Service; and if 
we have hitherto been indolently content 
with the assurance of a personal salvation, 
it behooves us now to get busy for our Lord. 


“Hark! the voice of Jesus calling, 

‘Who will go and work to-day? 

Fields are white, and harvest waiting; 
Who will bear the sheaves away?’ 


“Tf you cannot speak like angels, 
If you cannot preach like Paul, 


356» LIFEVAN DLE PVERSIOR/ Sly PAUL 


You can tell the love of Jesus, 
You can say, ‘He died for all.’ 


“Take the task He gives you gladly, 
Let His work your pleasure be; 
Answer quickly when He calleth, 
‘Here am I! Send me, send me!’”’ 


The veterans of the G. A. R. meet fre- 
quently around their camp-fires to ex- 
change reminiscences of the Civil War. At 
such times I have seen their faces flush and 
their old eyes kindle as if with a replenish- 
ment of youth. Are there such camp-fires 
in heaven? If so what tales have Paul and 
his Body Guard to tell—of perils oft by 
land and sea, of prison-damp and loneliness, 
of hairbreadth escapes, of victories won, of 
hoping for the service chevron, of visions of 
cloudy pillars in the air which were not 
clouds but fluttering garments of the White 
Christ leading on! And what greetings 
must be theirs as they pass along the golden 
streets: ‘‘I from Berea and I from Philippi 
and I from Troas and I from Ephesus, 
thank you!’’ These are stars in their crown 
of rejoicing. God grant there may be such 
stars for us! 


Part IV 
PAL iow bw bieRS 


Rhy) 


INTRODUCTION 


If any one is looking for a critical exposition 
of Paul’s Epistles he will not find it here. The 
Author’s desire has been to show forth the main 
purpose of the Apostle in writing these won- 
derful letters, so far forth as would be likely to 
whet the appetite for a deeper study of them. 
God speed the little book to that end! 


358 


PREFACE 


“LETTERS WEIGHTY AND POWERFUL.” 
2 Cor. 10:9 


The conversion of Paul, his divine call to the 
apostolate and his separation to the special task 
of reducing the teachings of Christ. to sys- 
tematic form are one of the supreme evidences 
of God’s providential care of his people. The 
preaching of Christ, for obvious reasons, was 
in popular terms; for the uses of succeeding 
ages (as theologians would say, for didactics 
and apologetics) it must be welded into logical 
unity. For this task who would be so well 
qualified as Saul of Tarsus, a graduate of the 
University of Jerusalem, brought up at the feet 
of Gamaliel, versed in Rabbinical lore and in 
Greek philosophy, the most skillful dialectician 
of his time? God wanted him; and, when God 
wants a man, the man is forthcoming. God 
called him on the way down to Damascus, and 
the answer was immediate, ‘““What wilt thou 
have me to do?” God showed him his task; and 
his Epistles are the result. The feeble voice of 
Paul was silenced centuries ago; but the letters 

359 . 


300) SLE ECAND DED GERS OFS mea ui 


that he wrote with his tremulous old hand, sur- 
viving the tooth of time and razure of oblivion, 
abide as fingerposts of the centuries pointing 
to Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

It will be observed that the Epistles are not 
treated in the chronological order of their com- 
position but as they occur in the Canon. The 
reasons for this are obvious and seem to over- 
balance whatever may be said against it. 

It will also be observed that no attempt is 
made to treat the Epistles. exegetically, but 
only to present such a broad outline as may 
incline the reader to go more deeply into them. 


Paul’s Letters 


I 


THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS 


THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL 


This Epistle was written from Corinth, 
A. D. 58; that is, more than a score of years 
after Paul’s conversion. What had he been 
doing in the meantime? Not writing letters 
certainly; he had been too busily engaged in 
carrying on his evangelistic campaigns. He 
had now reached Corinth on his third mission- 
ary journey, and he had no doubt begun to feel 
the flagging of his physical strength. It may 
have been the consequent need of rest that gave 
him larger freedom with his pen. He had pre- 
viously written only two inspired letters (First 
and Second Thessalonians) ; but from now on 
we shall find him, under the. guidance of the 
Spirit, corresponding not infrequently with 


the churches and personal friends. 
361 


362’ LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


The early history of the Roman Church is 
lost in obscurity. Possibly it was founded by 
_ those “strangers of Rome” who were present 
in Jerusalem at the Pentecostal effusion of the 
Spirit (Acts 2:10), who would naturally keep 
up their new-found religion on returning to 
their homes. In the reign of Claudius (A. D. 
41-54) this church was so much in evidence that 
many of its members were expelled from the 
citv for their loyalty to Christ. Among these 
were the two tentmakers, Aquila and Priscilla, 
who were settled in Corinth when this letter 
was written. It was from them, doubtless, that 
Paul had received much of his information con- 
cerning this persecuted flock. 

It was now four years since he had set out 
on his third missionary journey, in which he 
had two objects in view. For one thing, he was 
acting as a sort of Field Secretary for the 
relief of the famine-stricken members of the 
mother church in Jerusalem. It must be re- 
membered that Paul, the Jew, never lost his 
vital interest in the welfare of his countrymen; 
as the divinely commissioned Apostle to the 
Gentiles, he was still profoundly concerned for 
them. By making this appeal to the Gentiles 


PAUL’S LETTERS 363 


for the relief of suffering Jews, he hoped to 
unite both factions of the church. Love like 
this is the “one touch of nature” that “makes 
the whole world kin.” 

But this “drive” for famine relief was wholly 
subordinate to his prime purpose, namely, the 
preaching of the Gospel. For this he had been 
“sent” and “separated”; so that, whatever of 
so-called social service he might render on side 
lines, he could by no means nor in any measure 
be diverted for a moment from his commission 
“to seek and save the lost” by bringing them 
to a saving knowledge of the grace of God. 

In this Epistle we have a comprehensive 
view of the whole doctrinal system of our re- 
ligion. And here we happen upon a noteworthy 
fact, to wit, that Christianity is the only one 
of the so-called great religions of the world 
that is capable of being reduced to a system. 
No such thing as real unity is claimed for 
Islamism or Buddhism or Confucianism, their 
inconsistencies being freely admitted and ex- 
cused in many ways. But the essential truths 
of Scripture hang together like the links of an 
endless chain, so that if one link be broken the 

whole falls asunder, 


304. “LIEBE AND VET iERSIOM S| ePAUL 


INTRODUCTION; GOING TO ROME 


CHAPTER 1; 1-17 


The Epistle begins (as it ends) with Paul’s 
familiar countersign, “Grace to you, and 
peace,” and then sets forth the Apostle’s desire 
and purpose to visit Rome. For years he had 
been directing his course that way. Twice he 
had set out with his face toward the Imperial 
City and been baffled; now, for the third time, 
he cherished the hope of reaching it. 

This was for two reasons. One was that 
Rome was the center of the civilized world. If 
he could preach the Gospel from that coign of 
vantage it would sound forth to the uttermost 
parts of the earth, No man was ever more 
ambitious than Paul to extend his influence as 
far as possible; for he realized, as every Chris- 
tian should, that in making the most of himself 
as an Ambassador of Christ he would be ren- 
dering the best possible service to his divine 
Lord. 

The other reason was because the church in 
Rome had a very special interest for him. It 
was made up of Jews and Gentiles, and on that 
account appealed to him both as a loyal Jew 


PAUL’S LETTERS 365 


and as the Apostle to the Gentiles. It was the 
very place to demonstrate the unifying power 
of Christian love. 

But Rome was out of the question as yet.. 
In the fulness of time he was to arrive there, 
but in a most unexpected way. He was des- 
tined to be led along the Appian Way in 
chains, to wear out the remainder of his life as 
a prisoner in Rome, and die at length beneath 
the shadow of its walls. 

In the meantime, however, he was held at 
Corinth by a multiplicity of duties and must 
make the best of it. I1e determined therefore 
to write a letter to the Christians at Rome. It 
so happened that Phoebe, a deaconess of Cen- 
chrea, the nearby seaport of Corinth, was about 
to visit Rome on a matter of personal business, 
and, in the absence of other postal facilities, 
the conveyance of the letter was entrusted to 


her. 


THE KEYNOTE: JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH 


At the outset the writer avows himself to be 
a servant of Jesus Christ, “called to be an 
apostle and separated unto the Gospel of 
God”; and he closes this avowal with the ring- 


366 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


ing words, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel 
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salva- 
tion to every one that believeth, to the Jew first 
. and also to the Greek. For therein is the 
righteousness of God revealed from faith to 
faith; as it is written, The just shall live by 
faith.” 

In 1517 Luther, then a monk in the Convent 
at Krfurt, went to Rome in the hope of dispell- 
ing certain doubts which greatly troubled him. 
As he was climbing the Sancta Scala in Rome, 
telling his beads and murmuring Pater Nosters 
by way of penance, he seemed to hear a Voice 
saying, “The just shall live by faith!” He 
sprang to his feet a new man in Christ Jesus. 
Thenceforth he gave up merit-making and de- 
voted himself to the preaching of this supreme 
truth. It was with these words, “The just 
shall live by faith,” ringing through his brain 
and conscience that he presently nailed his 
ninety-five theses to the chapel door at Witten- 
berg and sent the thunders of the Reformation 
rolling around the world. He called this doc- 
'trine of justification by faith articulwm ecclesic 
stantis aut cadentis; that is, “the postulate of a 


PAUL’S LETTERS 367 


standing or falling church”; and so it has 
proved to be. 


THE SINFULNESS OF SIN 


Cuapters 1: 18-31; 2 


In the remainder of the first two chapters 
Paul sets forth strongly the exceeding sinful- 
ness of sin. 

There are passages here that are not to be 
read publicly, but only in those trysting-places 
where a man is alone with God. It is a mistake 
to think that the whole Bible was intended to 
be read aloud, either in the sanctuary or at the 
family altar. One of the favorite criticisms of 
Robert Ingersoll against the Bible was that it 
contains many portions which his audience 
would blush to hear. ‘This is quite true, and 
incidentally it reveals on the part of Ingersoll 
and like-minded people a dense ignorance of 
the whole plan and purpose of Revelation. The 
Bible was intended to touch human life at every 
single point in its circumference. In making 
its spiritual diagnosis it is not content with 
looking at the patient’s tongue and counting 
his pulse, but goes down into the secret imag- 
inations of his inmost heart and lays a merciless 


368 LIFE AND, LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


hand on certain sins which no man ever con- 
fesses to his fellow-men. 

Paul, in this exposé of sin, mentions some 
of its worst developments. And he signifi- 
cantly adds that, at this point, there is “no dif- 
ference’: no difference between Jews and Gen- 
tiles; no difference between so-called moral and 
immoral men: for all are “concluded under 
sin.” The word concluded means literally “shut 
up together,” the picture being of all mankind 
in one prison and under the same sentence of 
spiritual death, which is eternal alienation from 


a holy God. 


THE ADVANTAGE OF THE JEW 


Cuapters 3-5 


Paul then addresses his argument more par- 
ticularly to his own countrymen. The fact that 
they were “children of Abraham,” he says, 
would not save them; for salvation is never by 
inheritance. No more weuld the fact that they 
were scrupulously observarit of the ceremonial 
law; “for by the deeds of the law shall no flesh 
be justified.” 

Well, then, “what advantage hath the Jew? 
Much every way: chiefly because that unto 


PAUL’S LETTERS S09: 


them were committed the oracles of God.” By 
this it appears that the Jews were “chosen” to 
the special privilege and corresponding re- 
sponsibility of preserving the Scriptures—in 
which were enshrined the prophecies of the 
coming Christ—and handing them down in- 
violate to succeeding ages. Their advantage 
was not in any hypothetical salvation on ac- 
count of that privilege, but in the superior 
light of the Messianic hope. If justified at all 
they must be justified by faith in the Messiah; 
even as Abraham, seeing Christ afar off, “was 
justified by faith and not by works.” This 
was the proverbial “Hope of Israel’; the hope 
that persisted along the red trail of prophecy 
down to Calvary, where it was quenched in the 
‘blood of him for whom they had so long been 
looking! 


SIN VS. GRACE. 


Cuaprers 6, 7 


Then follows Paul’s vindication of the doc- 
trine of free grace as against the objection of 
the Antinomians, who said, “If we are justi- 
fied without reference to our good works, why 


3/0 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


should we not go on to sin?’ 'The mere sug- 
gestion is fraught with horror to the mind of 
the great apostle. Hear him: “How shall we 
that are dead to sin live any longer therein? 
God forbid! . . . For the wages of sin is 
death, but the gift of God is eternal life 
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And he pro- 
ceeds to show how the whole grapple of the 
Christian life is against sin. In himself he 
likens it to the struggle of a convict who has 
been chained to a corpse and thrown into the 
sea. “O wretched man that I am! Who shall 
deliver me from the body of this death?” And 
then comes the hopeful ery of victory, “I 
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” 


THE WONDERFUL EIGHTH OF ROMANS 


This brings us to the eighth chapter. The 
Christian who can read this chapter without a 
thrill of exultation is “fit for treasons, strata- 
gems and spoils.” We were dead, but are alive 
again in Christ; we were in bondage, but are 
forever free! Was ever such a challenge as 
this: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of 
God’s elect? It is God that justifieth! Who 
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, 


PAUL’S ‘LETTERS alae 


yea, rather, that is risen again, . . . who 
also maketh intercession for us! Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ?’ Come 
death, come life, come angels, principalities, 
powers, things present, things to come, height, 
depth or any other creature; we are in Christ 
Jesus, wherefore nothing can separate us from » 
the love of God! Of this inspired presenta- 
tion of the vital union of the believer with his 
Lord we have a faint echo in Wesley’s familiar 
words: 


“This one thing I find: 
We two are so joined, 
Christ can’t go to heaven 
And leave me behind.” 


THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS 
Cuaprers 9-11 


In the next three chapters we have a clear 
presentation of God’s purpose with respect to 
the chosen people. For though this, the most 
“general” of all Paul’s Epistles, was addressed 
to Rome as the outstanding figure in a univer- 
sal church, not for an instant could Paul per- 
mit his heart to wander from his own country- 


372, LIFE ANDIGET TERS ObesT: PAUL 


men though they had cast him off. Hear him: 
“My heart’s desire for Israel is that they 
might be saved.” Blessed desire of Great- 
heart! 


There is an accent of hope in his anguished 
ery, “Hath God cast away his people? God 
forbid!’ For a time indeed—as he intimates 
—they are blind and in bondage, denying 
their own Messiah “whom kings and prophets 
longed to see and died without the sight”; but 
in the fulness of time the veil is to be removed 
from their eyes and they are to come flocking 
to Christ as doves to their windows. Then 
shall the mystery of God’s gracious dealings 
with his people be made clear. In the mean- 
time this must suffice: “How unsearchable are 
his judgments and his ways past finding out!” 
11:33. 


PRACTICAL EXHORTATIONS 


Cuapters 12-15:12 


Paul next dwells upon the importance of 
translating faith into the terms of common 
life. A creed on parchment is an insignificant 
thing; it has value only when it walks out on 


PAUL'S LETTERS 373 


two feet and busies itself with two hands in 
the work of the kingdom of God. As food is a 
vain thing unless it be assimilated and trans- 
muted into blood and sinew and bone, so is 
faith in Christ except it be changed into high 
purpose and efficiency; for thus it is written: 
“FEixcept ye eat the flesh of the Son of man 
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” 


A PROPOSED JOURNEY INTO SPAIN 


Cuaprer 15: 12-24 


The essential part of his Epistle being dis- 
posed of, Paul makes known the world-wide 
scope of his mission. He purposes a journey 
even “into Spain”! The height of his ambi- 
tion, so far as previously disclosed, had been 
to visit Rome; it now appears, however, that 
Rome was a mere way station in his itinerary. 
The world was his parish. The Master had 
enjoined him to “Go!” and go he would, and 
keep going until he had reached the “utter- 
most parts of the earth.” For Spain was at 
the Pillars of Hercules, on the margin of the 
uncharted seas. 


374. -LIBECAND LETTERS OF ST? PAWL 


CONCLUSION: SALUTATIONS 


CHaprTer 16 


The last chapter is given up to affectionate 
greetings and hopeful farewells; and here we 
have a sidelight into the sweet domesticity of 
the early church. Blest be the tie that binds 
our hearts in Christian love! There is no bond 
of consanguinity that can for a moment com- 
pare with the blood-covenant of the church. 
Believing Jews and Gentiles are one in him 
who loved us and gave himself for us. 

There are two singular things to be noted 
in this chapter of greetings. 

One of these is the parenthesis, “I, Tertius, 
who wrote this Epistle, salute you in the 
Lord.” By this we are given to understand 
that Paul dictated this letter to an amanuen- 
sis, a fact probably due to the infirmities of in- 
creasing age. As he was sending these saluta- 
tions to his Roman friends he may have been 
called aside for a moment; and just there and 
then was where Tertius, his secretary, took 
advantage of the opportunity of putting in 
this salutation of his own. It has made him 
immortal; for, indeed, this is everything that 


PAUL’S LETTERS 375 


we know about him. Let us be glad, in pass- 
ing, that Paul did not feel constrained to cut 
out the parenthesis of this humble man—who 
is here embalmed like a fly in amber——for it 
gives us a pleasant sidelight into the family 
relations of the early church. 


The other singular thing in this closing 
chapter is the fact that it contains no reference 
to Peter. The papal doctrine of the primacy 
of Peter rests upon the assumption that the 
Roman Church was founded by him about 
A. D. 42, and that he continued to be Bishop 
there for a period of twenty-five years. If so, 
then, of course, he must have been at Rome 
when this Epistle was written. This leaves us 
in a quandary; for if that were so, it is unac- 
countable, to say the least, that Paul should 
not only make no mention of him in the entire 
course of this Epistle, but that in these final 
greetings he should not refer to him in any 
way. 


It only remains for us to hear Paul saying 
to his amanuensis, “The grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Grace 
—grace—the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: 


3/6) LIFE AND LETEERS Obes T.sPAUL 


whenever you hear it you may know that Paul 
is somewhere on the premises or near by; for 
the gratis of salvation was his only boast; and 
Christ for him was first, last, midst and all 
in all. 


II 


FIRST CORINTHIANS 


PRACTICAL RELIGION 


The city of Corinth had been utterly. de- 
stroyed in the time of the Peloponnesian War 
and remained in ruins until the time of Julius 
Cesar. He rebuilt it because he saw that its 
situation, on a peninsula with a seaport on 
either side, afforded a coign of vantage for 
commercial pre-eminence, as indeed it subse- 
quently proved when ships of the Seven Seas 
brought their cargoes to its markets. The city 
on being rebuilt was dedicated to Venus Aph- 
rodite, the goddess of sensuality; and at the 
time of our narrative a thousand so-called 
““‘vestals” were set apart there for the celebra- 
tion of her unspeakably .impure rites. 

Paul came to Corinth on his second mis- 
sionary journey, A. D. 52, and remained there 
a year and a half. At that time the city had 


a threefold renown: first, as the seat of the 
377 


378 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


far-famed Isthmian or Corinthian games; 
second, as a great commercial centre; and 
third, as the Vanity Fair of the world. 

The church which Paul founded in Corinth 
was made up most largely of Greeks, who were 
doubly handicapped by heredity and environ- 
ment. The impure blood of many generations 
was flowing in their veins and they were sur- 
rounded by a people wholly given to popular 
vices. It was to be expected, under such cir- 
cumstances, that the new converts to Christ 
would find it no easy matter to adjust them- 
selves to the stern requirements of the Chris- 
tian life. 

The occasion of this letter was as follows: 
An important member of the Corinthian 
Church came to Ephesus (A. D. 57) on a visit, 
while Paul was ministering there, and brought 
news of spiritual declension among the Corin- 
thian Christians which greatly distressed him. 
_ Not long after this he received a letter from 
certain members of that church which not only 
emphasized what he had already heard, but 
gave him still greater cause for anxiety; and 
presently a delegation of three of its members 
came with a formal request that Paul would 


PAUL’S LETTERS Rae, 


advise them as to what was to be done. His 
desire was to go immediately to Corinth and 
attend to the matter, but circumstances in 
Ephesus were such that this was out of the 
question. The next best thing to do was to 
write a letter, which, under the direction of the 
Holy Spirit, he proceeded to do. 

With this explanation of the circumstances 
under which the letter’ was written, we can 
easily surmise what its character was likely to 
be. There was no complaint as to the ortho- 
doxy of the Corinthian Church. Its members 
were intellectually true to the doctrines of the 
Christian faith, but they failed to translate 
their faith into the practical terms of common 
life. A reference is made by Paul to this fact 
where he says, “As a wise master builder I 
have laid the foundation, and another (namely, 
Apollos, who succeeded him in the pastorate 
at Corinth) buildeth thereon. But let every 
man take heed how he buildeth thereupon, for 
other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any 
man build upon this foundation gold, silver, 
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every 
man’s work shall be made manifest; for the 


380. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


day shall declare it, because it shall be re- 
vealed by fire and the fire shall try every 
man’s work of what sort it is.’ The reference 
in this passage is to the well-remembered con-. 
flagration of Mummius which had destroyed 
all the combustible homes of the ancient city 
and left only those substantial buildings which 
had been built on good foundations. 


It will be seen, therefore, why so little em- 
phasis is put in this Epistle upon the doctrines 
of our Christian faith and so great an empha- 
sis on the importance of living up to them. In 
the Epistle to the Romans, the circumstances 
being totally different, we have the great doc- 
trinal symbol of the New Testament; but in 
this First Epistle to the Corinthians we have a 
monumental thesis on Practical Religion, 


CHRISTIAN UNITY 


Crapters 1-4 


The first four chapters after Paul’s cus- 
tomary greeting, “Grace be unto you,” are 
devoted to reproof and counsel with special 
reference to the schisms which were prevalent 
in the Corinthian church: “For it hath been 


PAUL'S LETTERS 381 


declared unto me that there are contentions 
among you.” 

There were four parties among them. First, 
those who, called themselves Pauline, because 
they followed him as the founder of their 
church. Second, the Petrine party, who allied 
themselves with Peter (Cephas), these being 
probably converted Jews who had reason to 
think of Peter as more sympathetic with 
Jewish methods than the Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles was likely to be. Third, the Apollonian 
party, who lined up with Apollos as a man of | 
persuasive eloquence and the former pastor of 
their church. And fourth, a party made up 
of such as preferred to call themselves simply 
Christians, possibly with an assumption of 
greater devotion to Christ, but probably in- 
volving also a renunciation of apostolic teach- 
ing. ‘To all these Paul gives the same advice: 
“I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same 
thing, and that there be no divisions among 
you; but that ye be perfectly joined together 
in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 

It is at this point that Paul thanks God that 
he had baptized none of them but Crispus, the 


382. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


master of the synagogue, and his old friend 
Gaius, “lest any should say that I had bap- 
tized in mine own name.” He also thanks God 
that he had taught no philosophy of his own, 
by which they might have been warranted in 
claiming to be his disciples rather than Christ’s. 
On coming to Corinth five years previously, 
with his failure in Athens fresh in memory, he 
had resolved that he would never again preach 
the Gospel with wisdom of words lest the 
Cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 
_ Wherefore his teaching among them had been 
with simplicity, the substance of it being, as 
he says, “Christ the power of God and the 
wisdom of God.” 


PERSONAL PURITY 


Craprers 5-14 


The next eight chapters are devoted to the 
correction of the particular evils which had 
been reported to him by the delegation from 
the Corinthian church. 

To begin with, he takes up the matter of 
personal purity. ‘There was one man there 
who had greatly scandalized the church by 
habitual indulgence in nameless vice. He in- 


PAUL'S LETTERS 383 


structs them that such an one should be “de- 
livered unto Satan for the destruction of the 
flesh.” ‘This meant, of course, that discipline 
should be administered by the officers of the 
church—a _ policy which has unfortunately 
fallen into disuse in our time. The offender 
was not merely to be suspended but to be ex- 
communicated; that is, “delivered unto Satan” 
or utterly separated from the people of Christ, 
to the end that he might bring forth fruits 
meet to repentance and so be brought back to 
God. 

Then follow certain instructions as to the 
sanctity of the marriage tie and other points 
relating to purity in personal life, all the 
Apostle’s injunctions here and further on in 
the Epistle being based, as will be seen, on 
certain great principles which are as enduring 
as the moral law. In reading them we natur- 
ally come upon certain passages which are not 
to be read in public but in the secret place 
where the soul of a man is bared in the pres- 
ence of God. 

NON-CONFORMITY 

The next point taken up by the Apostle is 

that of compromise with prevalent customs, 


394 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Let it be remembered that most of the mem- 
bers of the Corinthian church were Greeks 
who had formerly taken part in the worship 
of Venus, and who after their conversion con- 
tinued to be on familiar terms with their pagan 
friends. It would appear that some of these 
converts had gone so far as to attend the feasts 
given in honor of the unclean goddess. Of 
course, this could not be tolerated in those who 
were members of a Christian church; but one 
of the questions which the delegation had 
brought to Paul had to do with certain others 
who, while not actually attending the feasts, 
could see no harm in partaking of meats which 
had been laid upon the altars of Venus and 
thereafter sold in the shambles. What sin 
could there be in purchasing and partaking of 
those meats when they knew that “an idol was 
nothing in the world’? 

It is just here that Paul makes his great 
argument as to refraining from that which is 
not wrong of itself but becomes so when it 
leads weak consciences astray. “Take heed,” 
he says, “lest by any means this liberty of 
yours become a stumbling-block to them that 
are weak.” Suppose that one sitting at the 


PAUL’S LETTERS 385 


table, having previously been a worshipper of 
Venus, and, not being able to perceive that her 
worship was mere superstition, were to be led 
back by the example of a stronger brother into 
his former method of life? The safer plan is, 
therefore, to abstain. At any rate, Paul him- 
self will take no risks: “If meat make my 
brother to offend I will eat no flesh while the 
world standeth!” Here is the spirit of self- 
sacrifice at its best. 


MODESTY 


This is followed by the consideration of a 
certain matter which may seem of small mo- 
ment to us, but had apparently given rise to 
scandal in connection with public worship. It 
seems that some of the women had attended 
church with their heads uncovered. What a 
molehill to dwell upon, in a letter like this! 
But Paul did not think so. The priestesses of 
Venus Aphrodite were wont to publish their 
shameful vocation by appearing at her great 
festivals with uncovered heads; this was the 
token of their calling. When Christian women 
appeared in public in similar guise what would 
naturally be thought of them? It was there- 


386 LIFE AND. LETTERS OF 5ST. PAUL 


fore a matter of vital importance that they 
should avoid it. 


THE LORD'S SUPPER 


A matter of related but still greater mo- 
ment was the abuse of the Lord’s supper. 
There were some among the Christians of 
Corinth who had turned it into a revel not 
greatly differing from the hilarious feasts of 
Aphrodite. The rich were accustomed to bring 
with them the viands of the feast and to par- 
take gluttonously, not without drunkenness on 
the part of some, while the poorer members of 
the church sat hungrily by. “What.” cries 
Paul, “have ye not houses to eat and drink in? 
or despise ye the church of God, and shame 
them that have not? What shall I say to you? 
I praise you not.” Then follows a noble dis- 
quisition on the divine beauty and simplicity 
of the sacramental feast. 


SPIRITUAL GIFTS 
Still another abuse in public worship was 
due to the improper use of the charismata, or 
spiritual gifts, and particularly of the gift of 
tongues. It would appear that some of the 
members of the church, assuming themselves 


PAUL’S LETTERS eae 


to be possessed of this miraculous gift, had 
been lifting up their voices in the public assem- 
bles in a sort of gibberish which neither their 
hearers nor probably themselves were able to 
understand; and the result was utter confusion 
and disorder. 

It may be noted, in passing, that the same 
“oift of tongues” has not infrequently been 
claimed and exercised with like results at dif- 
ferent periods in the modern church, as for 
example among the followers of Edward Irv- 
ing, whose later life was clouded by many de- 
lusions. There was a reason for the conferring 
of such miraculous gifts on the members of 
the infant church, precisely as there is a reason 
for the use of a scaffolding in the early stages 
of the erection of a building; but as the scaf- 
folding is taken down when no longer needed, 
so with the charismata; they would hamper 
rather than help the progress of the modern 
church. 


CHARITY 
The counsel of Paul with respect to these 


spiritual gifts is interrupted by the wonderful 
Song of Charity (chapter 13), which he pro- 


388. LIFE ANDILET TERS OF ST, PAUL 


nounces to be the greatest of all gifts. 
“Though I speak with the tongues of men 
and of angels, and have not charity (love, 
R. V.), I am become as sounding brass or a 
tinkling cymbal. . . . Now abideth faith, 
hope, love, these three; and the greatest of 
these is love.” 


THE RESURRECTION 


Cuaprer 15 


While the members of the Corinthian church 
stood foursquare as to the fundamental doc- 
trines of the Christian faith, there was one 
doctrine of prime importance which had been 
assailed by certain false teachers who had 
crept in among them; namely, the resurrection 
of the dead. In order to forestall any further 
inroads in this direction, Paul gives us a con- 
vincing argument as to life and immortality. 
It concludes with the challenge: “O death, 
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy vic- 
tory? The sting of death is sin; and the 
strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to 
God, which giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ!” 


PAUL’S LETTERS 389 


CONCLUSION 


Cuapter 16 


The Epistle concludes with a chapter of 
greetings.in which Paul again refers to the 
fact that he is collecting funds among the 
Gentiles for his famine-stricken friends in the 
mother church at Jerusalem and requests their 
generous contributions. The letter is sent by 
the hand of 'Timothy, for whom he asks the 
loving consideration of the Christians in Cor- 
inth. Finally, “Watch ye, stand fast in the 
faith, quit you like men, be strong! Let all 
things be done with charity.” And then, of 
course, his countersign, “The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” 


III 


SECOND CORINTHIANS 


A SELF-RESPECTING MAN 


It will be remembered that Paul wrote his 
First Epistle to the Corinthians during his 
three years’ pastorate at Ephesus. Not long 
after that he was attacked by a mob and 
obliged to flee for his life. This happened in 
the month of May, A. D. 57, while the great 
feast in honor of Diana was going on. By 
this time Paul had been long enough in E;jphe- 
sus to make grave inroads on the traffic in 
little images of the goddess which were cus- 
tomarily sold at the feast. ‘The shop-keepers 
and particularly the manufacturers of such 
wares, being naturally indignant on account 
of their losses, held a meeting at which Deme- 
trius the silversmith made a fiery address, with 
the result that an uproar was raised in the city 
and a search was instituted for Paul, who, had 
he been found, would without doubt have been 

390 


PAUL’S LETTERS 391 


summarily dealt with. After being kept under 
cover for a while by friends, he quietly left the 
city. 

So it came to pass that this Second Epistle, 
which is a postscript to the First, was not 
written at Ephesus, but in some unknown 
place where Paul found shelter after his flight. 
He had set out with the evident intention of 
going to Corinth, in pursuance of a promise 
that, as soon as possible, he would visit the 
people there. He had advised them through 
Titus, the postman of his First letter, that 
they might expect him; and they had accord- 
ingly been preparing to receive him. He had 
enjoined Titus to return at the earliest pos- 
sible moment with information as to how his 
previous letter was received; but up to the 
time of Paul’s leaving E/phesus his messenger 
had not returned; and now that he had reached 
Macedonia there was still no news. He had 
waited for Titus at Troas in vain; and with 
an anxious heart he continued his evangelistic 
work in towns along the way. 

News came at length, while he was some- 
where among the Macedonian hills, and news 
of a most distressing sort. ‘The church in 


392 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Corinth was sadly divided; the majority of its 
members had received his reproofs in a proper 
spirit of humility; but there were trouble- 
makers who not only resented his interference 
with their worldly manner of life but went so 
far as to deny outright his apostolic authority. 
Others denounced him as a promise-breaker, 
affirming that he had never really intended to 
visit them, broadly hinting that he was a coward 
and afraid to confront them face to face with 
the severe charges of immorality which he had 
brought against them. 

These were the circumstances under which 
he sat down, somewhere in Macedonia, to write 
this letter in self-defence. Was it worth 
while? Is it ever worth while for a man to 
vindicate himself? If so, it was doubly imper- 
tant for Paul to set himself right as an apostle 
of Christ. ‘The validity of his apostolic teach- 
ing was at stake, not only as it concerned the 
church members of Corinth, but for all Chris- 
tians who were to receive his writings as 
canonical and trustworthy through the coming 
ages. 

It is important that we should know whether 
Paul was really an authorized and inspired 


PAUL’S LETTERS 393 


teacher of the doctrines of Christ. For in our 
time there is no lack of accusers, like those at 
Corinth, who look askance at Paul and speak 
slightingly of “Pauline theology,” as if an 
invidicus distinction were to be drawn between 
the trustworthiness of Christ and that of his 
apostles. They either forget or choose to 
ignore and practically deny the fact that the 
apostolic Scriptures were underwritten by 
Christ himself when he said not only, “He that 
heareth you heareth me,” but conversely, “He 
that despiseth you despiseth me.” 

It is of supreme importance therefore that 
Paul should vindicate his standing as an 
apostle, particularly by reason of the fact that 
he, of all the apostles, was pre-eminently 
chosen to formulate and systematize the doc- 
trines of the Christian faith. 

In this Second Epistle to the Corinthians 
we have that vindication. It would be worth 
while if it contained no more than the pas- 
sionate effort of an ordinary man to uphold 
his honor. But it is immeasurably more than 
that; it is the picture of one of the Lord’s 
mighties standing for the defence of his am- 
bassadorship, and therefore for the authority 


394 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


of the message which, as he steadfastly affirms, 
comes through his lips from the very throne 
of God. | 


A MAN OF HIS WORD 


Cuapters 1, 2 


In the first two chapters, Paul, after his 
customary salutation, assures his friends that 
no fault of his had prevented the fulfillment 
of his promise to visit them. “Man proposes 
but God disposes.” 'The fact was that on his 
journey he had been prostrated by an attack 
of illness that threatened his very life. (2 Cor. 
1: 8-12.) This was an excuse that would hold 
in any court of justice. In reply to those who 
accused him of being afraid to meet them face 
to face, he affirms that he had never so lived as 
to lay himself open to the charge of evasion or 
prevarication. “Our word toward you is not 
yea and nay; but as the promises of God in 
Christ are yea and amen, so have I always 
endeavored to speak the truth, the whole truth, 
and nothing but the truth.” It would be hard 
to find a nobler tribute to transparent candor. 
The water-carriers of Christ cannot carry 


PAUL’S LETTERS 395 


water on both shoulders. As children of light 
their yea must be yea and their nay nay. 


A VERITABLE APOSTLE 


CruaprTers 3-5 


In these chapters Paul sets forth his cre- 
dentials as an apostle. It is true he did not 
belong to the original Twelve. He admits 
that, as an apostle, he was “as one born out 
of due time.” But in due time he did receive 
his commission; and it bore the sign-manual 
of Christ himself. 

No one could be an apostle who had not 
seen Christ. No one could write Scripture 
who had not seen Christ. This was the fact 
which ultimately sealed the canon of the New 
Testament: only such books were included as 
were definitely known to have been written by 
men who had seen the living Christ. But Paul 
had seen him. On his way down to Damascus 
—‘out of due season” indeed—he had looked 
upon him in “a light above the brightness of 
the sun.” And he had received his apostolic 
commission in unmistakable terms that day. 

But they demanded formal credentials. 
Perhaps they wanted letters of commendation 


396. LIFE ANDIZE TR TERS OMSL PAUL 


from the mother church in Jerusalem. Here 
was Paul going around among both Jews and 
Gentiles without a written line or syllable to 
authenticate his claims! What has he to say 
to that? “Do we begin again to commend 
ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles 
of commendation to you or letters of commen- 
dation from you? Ye are our epistle, written 
in our hearts, known and read of all men.” 
Hear that, ye who clamor for a place in “the 
apostolic succession.” Where are your con- 
verts, the conquests of your faith, the living 
epistles that certify to the validity of your 
call? Stand up, all “unordained” evangelists 
whose crowns are shining full of stars, stand 
up in the presence of mitres and canonicals 
and let your works witness for you! 

But that was not all: Paul claimed to have 
other credentials: “Always bearing about in 
the body,” he says, “the dying of the Lord 
Jesus’; or, as he puts it in Galatians, “Let no 
man trouble me: for I bear in my body the 
marks (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus.” ‘The 
scars of many scourgings were upon him. 
Who are these who call him charlatan? “Are 
they ministers of Christ? I more! In labors 


PAUL’S LETTERS 397 


more abundant, in stripes above measure, in 
prisons more frequent, in deaths oft!” (2 Cor. 
11:23.) Let him be judged not only by what 
he had done, but by what he had suffered in 
the Master’s name. 

Were other credentials called for? We shall 
find them further on (2 Cor. 12) : “I will come 
to visions and revelations of the Lord,” says 
Paul. “I knew a man in Christ above four- 
teen years ago (whether in the body, I cannot 
tell; or whether out of’the body, I cannot tell: 
God knoweth); such an one caught up into 
Paradise, the third heaven, where he heard 
unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a 
man to utter. Of such an one will I glory.” 

Not less than twenty-nine times in this 
Epistle do we come upon that word. Paul 
seems to be boasting continually, yet not of 
himself, save as an ambassador of Christ. As 
such, it behooves him to contend for the integ- 
rity of his message. “I am become a fool in 
glorying,” he says; “ye have compelled me; 
for I ought to have been commended of you. 
Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought 
among you in all patience, in signs and won- 
ders and mighty deeds.” 


398 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


A FAITHFUL MINISTER 


CuAptTers 6, 7 


In chapters six and seven he speaks for 
himself as the former pastor of the Corinthian 
church. And here his heart is in his throat. 
What severe tenderness! He reminds them 
how patiently and earnestly he had served 
them. (For a perfect picture of a faithful 
pastorate read 2 Cor. 6: 3-10.) And how had 
they recompensed him? “Ye are not straitened 
in us, but ye are straitened in your own affec- 
tions. Our mouth is open unto you, O Corin- 
thians, our heart is enlarged.” 'They had lent 
a willing ear even to the unrighteous who ac- 
cused him. “Come out from among them and 
be ye separate, saith the Lord. . . . Open 
your hearts to us; we wronged no man.” 

He acknowledges the severity of his former 
letter, but insists not only that the circum- 
stances of the case required it but that results 
had fully justified it. For Titus, on his return 
from Corinth, had informed him of a notable 
betterment of life among the Christians there. 
Wherefore he says that though he had made 
them sorry with his letter he did not repent, 


but rather rejoiced that they were made sorry 
38 


PAUL'S LETTERS 399 


with a godly sorrow that needed not to be 
repented of. 


THE COLLECTION 


Cuapters 8, 9 


In the next two chapters Paul appeals for a 
generous contribution in behalf of the famine- 
stricken members of the mother church in 
Jerusalem. The fact that these Christians of 
Corinth were mostly Gentiles would make 
such an offering significant of church unity 
and magnanimity. He ventures to stimulate 
their spirit of emulation by reminding them of 
the forwardness of the churches of Macedonia 
which had given generously in “deep poverty” 
and “in a great trial of affliction.” He as- 
sures them that such beneficence can involve 
no loss, since giving to the poor is but lending 
to the Lord. And finally he puts them in re- 
membrance of Christ as the unspeakable Gift 


of God. 


SELF-RESPECT 


Cuaprers 10-13 


In the remaining chapters Paul makes a 
clean job of his defence, taking up and dis- 


400 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


posing of everything that had been alleged 
against him. 

Paul was under fire. There were those at 
Corinth who said, “His letters are indeed 
weighty and powerful, but his bodily pres- 
ence is weak and his speech is contemptible,” 
which was presumably the reason why he, not- 
withstanding his promise, had failed to visit 
them. To this he replies, first, by accusing 
his accusers of grave presumption and, sec- 
ond, by emphasizing his purpose not only to 
come to Corinth but to “stretch himself” even 
to the regions beyond. 

And then, as if swept away by righteous 
indignation on account of the wrongs inflicted 
upon him, he becomes, as he says, a very fool 
in boasting. (Read 2 Cor. 11:18-12:13.) At 
this point one cannot fail to recall the infidel 
Renan’s description of Paul as “the ugly lit- 
tle Jew.” ™But how that ugly little Jew towers 
aloft in defence of himself as a duly accredi- 
ted ambassador of Christ! Nor is this the 
only occasion when he stood upon his official 
dignity. Once imprisoned at Philippi by mag- 
istrates who, having exceeded their authority, 
became frightened and ordered the jailer to 


PAUL’S LETTERS 401 


let him go, he refused to be let go, saying, 
“They have beaten us openly, uncondemned, 
and now do they thrust us out privily? Nay, 
verily, but let them come themselves and fetch 
us out!” And come they did, “and brought 
them out and desired them to depart out of 
the city.” 

All honor to the man who knows his rights 
and knowing dares maintain! There is no room 
in practical Christianity for “’umbleness” like 
that of Uriah Heep. And certainly no ambas- 
sador is at liberty to endure silently an af- 
front to the Government that commissions 
him. . 

Hear him again—this “ugly little Jew’— 
asserting his rights in the Pretorian palace at 
Cesarea. He had been beaten about in one 
petty court after another until forbearance 
had ceased to be a virtue; so that when Fes- 
tus proposed that he consent to go up again 
to Jerusalem to be badgered by the rabbis, he 
answered, “If L have committed anything 
worthy of death I refuse not to die; but if 
there be none of these things whereof they 
accuse Me, no man may deliver me unto them. 
I appeal unto Cesar!” He thus fell back upon 


402 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


his rights as a citizen of Rome. Again, I 
say, all honor to him! 

No Christian is at liberty to dishonor him- 
self. Christ himself was the manlhiest of men. 
To use the words of Milton, his was “that 
lofty lowliness of mind which is exalted by its 
own humiliation!’ One who would truly fol- 
low Christ in this respect must be jealous not 
only for his own character but for his repu- 
tation also, in order that his influence may 
work to the uttermost for the good of his fel- 
low-men. 

In conclusion Paul reiterates his expectation 
of reaching Corinth in due time; and, in antic- 
ipation of his coming, exhorts his friends, “Eix- 
amine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; 
prove your own selves.” Then his farewell, 
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the 
love of God and the communion of the Holy 
Ghost be with you all. Amen.” 


IV 


THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 


JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH 


This Epistle was written about A. D. 58. 
It was occasioned by the fact that, while Paul 
was on his third missionary journey, news 
reached him that members of the church in 
Galatia were being persuaded by Judaizers 
to return again from the simplicity of the 
Gospel to the bondage of the Ceremonial Law. 


SALUTATION 
Craprer 1: 1-5 
In his three years’ ministry at Ephesus the 
Apostle was assisted by a noble band of 
workers, among whom were Gaius, Tim- 
othy, Tychicus and Trophimus, Sopater, Aris- 
tarchus, Secundus and the ever-faithful tent- 
makers Aquila and Priscilla. The fact that 
these were informed as to the purpose of this 
letter and in full accord with it is intimated 
by their joining in the greeting, “Grace be to 
you and peace.” 
403 


404 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


REMONSTRANCE 


Cuapter 1: 6-12 


It must have been something startling in 
the news from Galatia that moved Paul to ex- 
claim, “I marvel!’ It was, indeed; for it had 
been reported that the church members there 
were “removed unto another gospel.” And 
the new gospel which they preferred to the 
Gospel of Christ was really “not another,” 
but a transparent fraud, because it brought 
them no “good news” of salvation from sin. 

In view of the many evasions and make- 
shifts and substitutes which in our day are 
offered for the old-time religion it may be 
well to emphasize the words of Paul in this 
connection: “Though we, or an angel from 
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, let 
him be anathema!” 

A terrible judgment, this; which he justi- 
fies by saying that the Gospel which he 
preached was received by the direct “revelation 
of Jesus Christ’ and not like those others 
“after man.” If this means anything it means 
that those who profess to follow Christ are not 
at liberty to formulate their creed according 
to the teachings of any man or body of men 


PAUL’S LETTERS 405 


whatsoever, but are under bonds to regard as 
final the authority of the oracles of God. 


REVELATION VINDICATED 
Craprers 1: 13-2 

At this point the Apostle proceeds to show 
how the Gospel was revealed to him. At 
the time of his conversion, he says, he did not 
feel qualified at once to enter upon his min- 
istry; but “conferring not with flesh and 
blood,” not even going up to Jerusalem to ad- 
vise with those who were Apostles before him, 
he “went away into Arabia” where among the 
solitudes he pursued a three-years theological 
course. Then, having received the divine title 
of B. D., he went up to Jerusalem, where 
he remained for fifteen days in conference 
with Peter and James, the pastor of the moth- 
er church. After that, for a period of eleven 
years, he carried on a sort of independent 
work among the neglected peoples of Syria 
arid Cilicia. Meanwhile, he says, he was “un- 
known by face unto the churches of Judea,” 
save as rumors came to them that “he which 
persecuted us in times past now preacheth 
the faith.” Then, after this apprenticeship of 


406 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


fourteen years, he did go up to Jerusalem 
“by revelation” to attend the Council which 
had been called to determine whether Gentile 
converts must enter the Church by complying 
with the Levitical rules and regulations or 
not; and then and there the career of Paul 
as an “ordained” minister began, as it is writ- 
ten that they gave him the right hand of fel- 
lowship that he should “go unto the heathen.” 
As Peter had been set apart and ordained “‘to 
the apostleship of the circumcision,” so Paul 
was now designated for special service among 
the Gentiles; and at the same time he was 
commissioned to solicit offerings from the 
Gentile converts for the relief of the famine- 
stricken Christians of Jerusalem. His work 
was now clearly marked out; and never for a 
moment thereafter did he swerve from it. 

On one occasion, he says, he had been forced 
to take issue with Peter and “withstand him 
to the face.” This was during the revival at’ 
Antioch A. D. 42. (Acts 15:22-26.) For a 
while Peter mingled with the Gentile converts 
there on terms of equality, but under the in- 
fluence of certain members of the church in 
Jerusalem he “withdrew and separated him- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 407 


self, fearing them which were of the circum- 
cision.” For this, says Paul, “he was to be 
blamed”; wherefore there occurred a tempor- 
ary breach between the two apostles; but Paul 
had the right of it. Compromise in moral ques- 
tions never pays. Peter, by endeavoring to 
carry water on both shoulders, was really con- 
senting that the Gentiles must enter the 
Christian Church by the Jewish door. All 
praise to Paul—Jew that he was—for his 
vigorous defence of Gentile rights! Hear 
him: “A man is not justified by the works of 
the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.” “I 
do not frustrate the grace of God; for if 
righteousness come by the law, then Christ 
is dead in vain!” “TI am crucified with Christ: 
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth 
in me: and the life which I now live in the 
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, 
who loved me and gave himself for me.” 


WITCHCRAFT 
CHaprer 3 


“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched 


you?” A severe indictment, this, but amply 


408 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


justified, as Paul proceeds to show, by the 
facts in the case. By lending an ear to those 
who taught salvation by deeds of the law, they 
had been as really bewitched as King Saul 
was at En-dor. And how groundlessly! For 
Christ had been “evidently set forth crucified” 
among them. Wherefore they were without 
excuse. 

Those among them who were converted 
Jews professed to be children of Abraham; 
but even Abraham, as Paul shows, was not 
saved by works; he “believed God, and it was 
accounted to him for righteousness.” This 
belief in God was based upon the Messianic 
promise, “In thee shall all the families of the 
earthy be blessedii™ (Gen. 12:34)", Sinvother 
words, Abraham was a Christian and was 
saved by faith in the Saviour whom he saw 
afar off. 

Not only so, the Ceremonial Law was so far 
from having of itself any saving power that 
it was merely “a schoolmaster to lead unto 
Christ,” which is evident in the fact that all 
its rites and ceremonies, its oblations and ablu- 
tions, its ark and altars and sacrifices, pointed 
forward to him. 


PAUL’S LETTERS 409 


“Not all the blood of beasts 
On Jewish altars slain 
Can give the guilty conscience peace 
Or take away its stain; 
But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, 
Takes all our sins away, 


A sacrifice of nobler name 
And richer blood than they.” 


By this it appears that the old-time worth- 
ies were saved precisely as we are—they by 
looking forward and we by looking backward 
to Christ. As there is only one God, so there 
is only one way of approach to him. “I am 
the way,” said Jesus; “no man cometh unto 
the Father but by me.” One God, one Gos- 
pel of salvation, “one Church above, beneath, 
though now divided by the stream, the narrow 
stream of death.” ‘Thus are the ends of the 
earth and of history brought nigh together, 
even as Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor 
Greek; ye are all the children of God by faith 
in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then 
are ye Abraham’s seed.” Which is only an- 
other way of saying that all who have believed 
in Christ since the foundation of the world 
belong to the true Israel of God, 


410. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


AN ALLEGORY 


CHAPTER 4 


“It is written that Abraham had two sons, 
the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free 
woman: which things are an allegory; for 
these are the two covenants.” 

First, the Covenant of Works. “The Law 
is not of faith, but the man that doeth them 
shall live in them”; and, conversely, whosoever 
breaketh the Law shall die under it. “The 
wages of sin is death.” ..Sin, in the nature 
and necessity of the case, alienates from a holy 
God; and this is spiritual death. 'To be with 
God is heaven; to be anywhere away from God 
is hell. 

The Law requires perfect obedience. One 
sin is enough to make an outlaw; as it is writ- 
ten, “Whosoever shall keep the whole Law, 
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of 
all.” The moment a planet leaves its orbit 
by so much as an inch it becomes a wanderer 
in infinite space. “The soul that sinneth, it 
shall die”; that is, it shall part company with 
God. 

And, alas, “there is none that doeth good, 
no, not one!” “The Scripture hath con-cluded 


PAUL’S LETTERS 411 


(i. e., shut up together) all under sin.” No 
longer free, but servants of sin! Children of 
the bondwoman! Aliens from the common- 
wealth of Israel! Exiles from the presence 
of a holy God! 

And law deals only with justice. It knows 
no mercy. It makes no provision for pardon. 
It exacts its penalty to the uttermost farth- 
ing. Wherefore under the covenant of works 
the sinner is “without God and without hope 
in the world.” What is to be done? Noth- 
ing, unless the omniscient and omnipotent 
God shall make bare his arm. 

Second, the Covenant of Grace. In the 
fulness of time God does make bare his arm. 
He interposes in behalf of the hopeless race, 
as it is written, “God so loved the world that 
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish but have 
everlasting life.” ‘Thus those who were con- 
demned under the old Covenant of Works are 
justified by faith under the new Covenant of 
_ Grace: as it is written, “For what the Law 
could not do, in that it was weak through the 
flesh (i. e., our sinful flesh), God, sending 
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 


412 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that 
the righteousness of the Law might be ful- 
filled in us.” (Romans 8:3.) 

That is, if we choose to have it so. For 
every man must determine for himself whether 
he will live under the Covenant of Works or 
under the Covenant of Grace, whether he will 
be a child of the bondwoman or of the free- 
woman, whether he will accept the wages of 
sin which is death, or the ee of God which is 
eternal life. 

This is where the Galatians were in danger 
of being led astray, of leaving Christ and re- 
turning to the bondage of the Jewish law. 
Nor has that danger passed. In our time 
Judaism is as much in evidence as ever. Men 
would rather be saved under the law than un- 
der grace. Grace and gratis are cognate 
words. Pride forbids our taking salvation 
“without money and without price.’ That 
word gratis offends the natural man. If it 
were possible that a pilgrimage of a thousand 
miles afoot on bread and water could earn 
a “title clear to mansions in the skies,” the 
thoroughfare would be crowded. But that is 
impossible: good works have no atoning pow- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 413 


er: there is no adaptation of the means to the 
end. Good behavior has no margin to apply 
beyond the passing hour. 


Nor is there any expiatory value in punish- 
ment. Not all the fires of hell itself can burn 
out the record of past sin. The dead cannot 
bury its dead. Unless God interposes in his 
behalf, the bondwoman’s child can never be- 
come an heir of God. The Cross is the one 
monument of grace. Its benefits are gratis, 
based on the sole condition of faith. ‘““Who- 
soever will, let him come.” 'To will to accept 
Christ and be saved through him is to cross 
the line from hell to heaven. 'To will to be 
saved by personal merit is to remain under the 
sentence of the law. And every one must say 
for himself which it shall be. 


STANDFASTNESS 
Cuaprer 5 
The argument thus far is unanswerable and 
its conclusion is inevitable: “Stand fast there- 
fore!” In what? “In the liberty wherewith 
Christ hath made us free.” As against what? 
As against any “entanglement with the yoke 
of bondage’; the old yoke of Judaism, that is 


414 LIFE AND‘ LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


—the hope of winning heaven by deeds of the 
law. | 

(1) The Judaizers in Corinth were saying 
that circumcision was necessary for entrance 
into the Church. Paul says, “If ye be circum- 
cised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” The 
moment one consents that justification is by 
works instead of faith, he “falls from grace” 
and “becomes a debtor to do the whole law.” 
There can be no compromise. The only con- 
dition affixed to full and complete salvation 
is faith, as Jesus said, “This is the work of 
God (i.e., the only work that commends us 
in the sight of God), that ye believe on him 
whom he hath sent.” (John 6:29.) 

(2) Wherefore, says Paul, yield not an 
inch. It is dangerous to palter with error: 
“a little leaven leaventh the whole lump.” If 
we are saved gratis, then we are no longer 
under the yoke of legalism. Does this mean 
that as Christians we are absolved from obedi- 
ence to the moral law? Not at all! Listen 
to Paul in another place (Romans 6:2) : “How 
shall we that are dead to sin live any longer 
therein? God forbid!’ But obedience is now 
lifted from the carnal plane of duty to the 


PAUL'S LET FERS 415 


spiritual plane of love. If we are true fol- 
lowers of Christ, we keep the law “not for the 
hope of winning heaven or of escaping hell,” 
but from a sense of gratitude to him who 
suffered on the Cross to deliver us from the 
shame and power and penalty of sin. 

(3) Thus, says Paul, we are “called unto 
liberty.” He is the freeman whom the truth 
makes free, 

“Free from the law, O happy condition! 
Jesus hath died and there is remission; 


Cursed by the law, and bruised by the fall, 
Christ hath redeemed us once for all.” 


Where then do good works come in? As 
the test and touchstone of faith, and as a 
preparation for service further on. Our title 
clear to heaven is assured solely by faith in 
Christ; but what sort of a heaven that will be 
is determined by our walk and conversation 
here and now. Some are saved like Lot “so 
as by fire,” while others go “sweeping through 
the gates” with an abundant entrance into the 
Kingdom of God. (Read 1 Cor. 3:10-14.) 

Our life here is merely an apprenticeship in 
which we learn how to do things in that heav- 
en further on where “his servants do serve 


416 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


99 


him.” Alas for the minimwm Christian who 
goes out into eternity like an unskilled work- 
man; but “they that be wise shall shine as- 
the brightness of the firmament; and they that 
turn many to righteousness as the stars for- 
ever and ever.” Oh, yes, good works tell, tell 
forever; but not for salvation, which is only 
and always “the gift of God.” 

(4) Thus Paul arrives, naturally and logi- 
cally, at the conflict between the flesh and 
the spirit, which is the great conflict of the 
Christian life. And here are the two categor- 
ies: read them: “The works of the flesh” 
(verses 19-21), and “the frwit (1. e., the nat- 
ural outgrowth) of the Spirit” (verses 22, 23.) 
In other words, the “good works” of a Chris- 
tian are not such as are laboriously wrought 
in obedience to law but such as grow natur- 
ally out of a sense of gratitude to him who 
loved us and gave himself for us: that is to 
say, they are an expression of “the glorious 
liberty of the children of God.” 

CONCLUSION 
Cuapter 6 

The Apostle has now accomplished his pur- 

pose in this Epistle, which was to show the 


PAUL’S LETTERS 417 


vital importance of the doctrine of Justifica- 
tion by Faith. 

It remains for him to say what shall be 
done with the Jewish propagandists who have 
been so sedulously advocating the false doc- 
trine of justification by works. He has already 
intimated that they should be “cut off,” i. e., 
subjected to church discipline; but he now de- 
clares that such discipline must only be ad- 
ministered “in the spirit of meekness” and 
with a view to their “restoration,” since, when 
all is said and done, love is the fulfilling of 
the law. 

Then follows a singular farewell: “Ye see 
how large a letter I have written unto you 
with mine own hand.” In fact, however, this 
Epistle of only six chapters is not a large one: 
but it was written in “large letters” (R. V.) 
as the half-blind Apostle would be likely to 
write; and, most significantly, it was written, 
not like the other Epistles by the hand of an 
amanuensis, but doubtless with much difficulty 
with the tremulous own hand of Paul. Thus 
does he certify to his deep concern for the 
welfare of his Galatian friends. 


AUS yy LRA NEOTEL ER S10) tite eet A UE 


But suppose he should be criticised for an 
undue presumption upon his apostolic func- 
tions? Listen to his noli me tangere: “Let 
no man trouble me; I bear about in my body 
the stigmata of the Lord Jesus!” His scars 
of service are his best credentials. And the 
same holds true of all who follow Christ. 

Finally what? Grace, of course. “Brethren, 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with 
your spirit.” 


Vv 


THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 
THE CHURCH 


(As an introduction to this Epistle the stu- 
dent would do well to read Acts 19:1-10, in 
which an account is given of Paul’s first visit 
to the Christians at E’'phesus, A. D. 55; also 
Acts 20:17-38, where, four years later, he bids 
them farewell.) 

This Epistle was written while Paul was a 
prisoner in the Pretorian camp at Rome, 
A.D. 64. While it was addressed in particular 
to the:Christians at Ephesus it was really a 
round robin, intended for all the churches 
then and now. 

Its theme is The Church, and it contains 
all ecclesiology in a nutshell. It portrays the 
Church as a living organism, made up of all 
in every age and of every name who are by 
faith vitally united with Christ. Not all whose 

419 


420 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


names are written on the visible roster of the 
denominations are really members of this in- 
visible organism; but only such as have their 
names written in the Lamb’s book of life by 
reason of a living faith in him. 


THE BODY OF CHRIST 


CHAPTER 1 


The customary greeting of the Apostle, 
“Grace be to you,” is immediately followed by 
a grateful recognition of. that grace in Elec- 
tion, as the divine method of incorporating 
penitent sinners into the Church as members 
of the living body of Christ. 


This election, says Paul, is “a mystery’: 
wherefore he does not undertake to explain it. 
But there are some things, nevertheless, that 
we know and may confidently affirm concern- 
ing it. erst, it is a fact. God would not be 
omniscient did he not foresee the future; and 
what God foresees is as certain to come to pass 
as if he foreordained it. Second, the doctrine 
of Election is not inconsistent with the free- 
dom of the human will. God has foreknown 
from all eternity whether or no I will lift my 
hand a moment from now; but I know that I 


PAUL’S LETTERS 421 


can do as I please about it. Third, the impor- 
tant matter is not that I should pry into the 
why and wherefore of Election, which is one 
of the state secrets of the Almighty, but that 
I should make my own “calling and election 
sure’ by accepting Christ, as Paul says, “for 
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches 
of his grace.” 

The moment a sinner does that he becomes 
a new man in Christ Jesus, being incorporated 
into the invisible Church, which is his body, 
as a living member of it. This is “the mystery 
of his will.’ In pursuance of that mystery 
all things will ultimately be “gathered togeth- 
er in one in Christ, according to the purpose 
of him who worketh all things after the coun- 
sel of his own will.” 

This chapter ends with one of the most re- 
_markable prayers ever offered (verses 15-23), 
which closes with a grateful and exultant trib- 
ute to God, who has thus in the exercise of his 
sovereign will put all things under the feet 
of his beloved Son and given him to be “the 
Head over all to the Church, which is his 


body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” 


422 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


A LIVING BODY 


CHAPTER 2 


In this chapter Christians are enjoined to 
“remember” certain things. The first is that 
until the hour of their conversion they were 
“dead in trespasses and sins.” ‘This is no 
mere figure of speech. We know that a man 
is physically dead when his physical powers 
no longer function. He has eyes but they see 
not, ears but they hear not; his lips are dumb 
and his heart is still. Jn. like manner a man 
is spiritually dead when his spiritual faculties 
are inoperative: when he cares nothing for life 
and immortality, nothing for God’s Word and 
work, has lost “the gift of the knees” and is 
out of touch with God. 

The second thing to “remember” is that con- 
version 1s a “quickening” from the dead. It 
is a “gain-birth,” as the fathers used to call 
it. The Christian is “a new man in Christ 
Jesus”: he is “alive from the dead,” being 
risen with Christ to newness of life. And 
this is his de facto initiation into the invisible 
Church. As Paul puts it, whereas “ye were 
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and 
strangers from the covenants of promise,” ye 


PAUL’S LETTERS 423 


are now “fellow-citizens with the saints and of 
the household of God.” 

The third thing here called to remembrance 
is that all this is not for personal merit but 
“that God might show the exceeding riches 
of his grace in his kindness toward us.” We 
cannot take credit for the act of faith which 
unites us with Christ; “for by grace are ye 
saved, through faith, and that not of your- 
selves; it is the gift of God.” 

In the last three verses of this chapter we 
have Paul’s splendid description of the Church 
as a Temple. (1) Its corner-stone is Christ. 
(2) Its foundation is “the apostles and proph- 
ets,” 1. e., the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments as the veritable Word of God. 
(3) It “groweth.” The word here is used 
only of organic growth; i. e., of a living thing. 
In one of Ruskin’s Essays he speaks of archi- 
tecture as “frozen music,” but this is not true 
of the Church. Its members are “living stones, 
built up a spirrtual house” (cf. 1 Peter 2:5), 
stones with eyes to see and hearts to pity and 
voices to sing “all hail the power of Jesus’ 
name.” (4) It groweth “unto a holy tem- 
Diceee a etor a nzbitation obwsod. Liis 


424. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


is the end and purpose of the Church, to be 

a center for the radiation of all the sweet in- 

fluences of truth and righteousness and life. 
AN ARTICULATED BODY 


Crapter 3 

At this point the Apostle unveils the fel- 
lowship of the mystery, presenting the Church 
as a family, constituted of many articulated 
members, into which the Gentiles are wel- 
comed on an even footing with the Jews, as 
“fellow-heirs and partakers of the promises 
in Christ.” 

A sidelight is thus opened into the domestic 
life of the Church; a vision that carries us back 
to the supper-room in Jerusalem where Jesus 
spoke of “the Father’s house”; and to “the 
church in the house” of the early Christians, 
and onward to heaven as our final home, 
whereof we sing, | 

“One family we dwell in him, 
One Church above, beneath, 


Though now divided by the stream, 
The narrow stream of death.” 


There is no tie of blood that can bind us so 


closely in kinship as does the blood of our 
Saviour. The death that breaks up all earth- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 425 


ly homes can only reunite the several mem- 
bers of Christ. 

It was a wonderful prayer that Paul of- 
fered in chapter 1; but observe how his soul 
mounts to loftier realms in the prayer which 
he now offers: “I bow my knees unto the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
of whom the whole family in heaven and earth 
is named,” etc. (verses 14-21). Was there 
ever a “family prayer’ like this? Was ever 
one that so mounted up as on eagle’s wings to 
sweep the sunlit heavens with undazzled eyes? 
It ends its flight only in the immediate pres- 
ence of him who sitteth on the great white 
throne—“that ye might be filled with all the 
fulness of God!” 


ONE BODY 


Ciuraprer 4 


He dwells here on the unity, diversity and 
co-operate efficiency of the Church. 

First, its unity: “One Lord, one faith, one 
baptism,” 1. e., of the Spirit for growth in 
character and usefulness; “one God and Fa- 
ther of all, who is above all and through all 
and in you all.” 


426 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


Second, its diversity. No two Christians 
are precisely alike, for “unto every one is giv- 
en grace according to the measure of the gift 
of Christ.” The risen and reigning Christ is 
set forth as the measurer of divers gifts to his 
people, which they are enjoined to use without 
envying. Shall the hand say to the foot, “I 
have no need of thee”? (Read 1 Cor. 12.) 
The glory of the Church is this unity in diver- 
sity. 

Men, like sheep, are made to segregate. 
“Birds of a feather flock together.” Baptists, 
Methodists, E/piscopalians and Presbyterians 
are where they belong. They differ and group 
themselves accordingly. No effort to combine 
them with iron clamps will succeed or ever 
should, because “God hath made them so.” 
But underlying all their divergences is a vital 
bond of union in their mutual devotion to 
Christ and to the vital truths and principles 
that center in him. It is a wise proverb that 
“fences make good neighbors,’ providing 
they are not “spite fences”: for “love is the 
fulfilling of the law.” 

Third, the important thing to be desired is 
not rigid uniformity, but mutual co-operation, 


PAUL’S LETTERS 427 


in which all the differing members of the body 
of Christ shall agree to differ and keep sweet. 
Everything depends on the pervasive life of 
Christ, “from whom the whole body, fitly 
joined together and compacted by that which 
every joint supplieth, according to the effec- 
tual working in the measure of every part, 
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying 
of itself in love.” 

In pursuance of these conditions the mem- 
bers of the church are exhorted (1) to “put 
away lying to their neighbor,” (2) to “put 
off’ the sinful habits of the carnal man, (3) 
and to “put on the new man, which after 
God is created in righteousness and true holi- 
ness.” 


A NUPTIAL. BODY: 


Cuapter 5 


The apostle here suggests “a great mys- 
Lenyies lO wit, the relation of Christ to his 
Church as the Bridegroom to his bride. “And 
they twain shall be one flesh.” A great mys- 
tery indeed! We are “flesh of his flesh and 
bone of his bone!” ‘The same figure runs 
through Scripture from beginning to end. 


428 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


(See Solomon’s Song; Hosea 2:16 and 19, 
20; Isaiah 54:5 and 62:5; Jeremiah 3:14; 
John 3:29; Rev. 21:2-9, etc.) 

In view of this mystical union of the Church 
with Christ, its members are enjoined to pur- 
ity of life. “Be ye therefore followers of God, 
as dear children,” i. e., as children adopted 
into spiritual kinship with Christ the only-be- 
gotten Son. For “as the husband is head of 
the wife, even so Christ.is the head of the 
Church”; and as husbands love their wives 
even so “Christ also loved the Church and 
gave himself for it.’ Why? “That he might 
sanctify and cleanse it.” 

It thus appears that the Church is not per- 
fect as yet; but the time is coming when the 
Bridegroom shall lead his bride to the altar 
“without spot or blemish or any such thing.” 
Not one in all the assembled multitude shall 
then be able to point a scornful finger at her. 
The Church will be arrayed in “fine linen, 
clean and white, which is the righteousness of 
saints.” Then the marriage supper of the 
Lamb. May we be there to partake of it! 


PAUL’S LETTERS 429 


A MILITANT BODY 
CHAPTER 6 

It is written of Christ that he came not only 
to die for the ruined race and so to open the 
gates of heaven for all believers, but “‘to de- 
stroy the works of the devil,” and thus make 
this world a better place to live in. “I am 
come,” he said, “not to bring peace but a 
sword.” This means the Holy War. The 
Church is presented as an army, in which all 
Christians are enlisted to fight against sin, 
against every form of sin, against the works 
of the devil in themselves and everywhere in 
this world of ours. 

The countersign is Hn devoir! Ever on 
guard! And a divine armory is provided for 
the equipment of every follower of Christ. 
“Take unto you the whole armor of God;— 
girdle of truth, breastplate of righteousness, 
sandals of preparation, shield of faith, helmet 
of salvation (all hail, the white plume!) and 
(as your only weapon) the sword of the Spirit 
which is the Word of God.” ‘Thus harnessed, 
we are enjoined to “stand” and “withstand,” 
to defend ourselves and contend for the wel- 
fare of all. 


430. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


It thus appears that the Church is the uni- 
versal “League to Enforce Peace.” Where- 
fore the Apostle concludes this great Epistle 
with the words “Peace be to the brethren, and 
love with faith’; and one thing more, his in- 
dispensable sign-manual, “Grace be with all 
them that love our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.” 


VI 


THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 


THE GREATER SALVATION 


The story of the Philippian Church is 
fraught with romantic interest. It began in 
the year 53, when Paul on his second mis- 
sionary journey had reached Troas, where he 
awaited the direction of the Holy Spirit as to 
his further progress. Nor did he wait in vain. 
In the night he saw a man of Macedonia beck- 
oning and calling, “Come over and help us!” 
Paul was never “disobedient to the heavenly 
vision.” He knew what this meant—on to 
Kurope—on to Europe and the conquest of 
the world! 

We can imagine him down at the dock in 
the early morning, inquiring for the first ship 
to cross the Hellespont. In company with 
Silas, Timothy and Luke he landed at Neap- 
olis and immediately pushed on by the moun- 
tain road to Philippi, in quest of the man with 
outstretched hands. ‘There was no synagogue 

431 


432. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


in the city; but just outside there was a pro- 
seucha or “place where prayer was wont to be 
made.” Finding a group of Jewish women 
assembled there, Paul preached to them with 
such effect that among others Lydia, a wealthy 
and influential purple-seller, was converted. 
She, strange to say, proved to be the “man 
of Macedonia.” In the course of his brief 
campaign so many others were converted that 
when Paul was obliged to leave the city he left 
behind him a strong church, probably wor- 
shipping in the house of Lydia, and counting 
in its membership a slave girl, formerly a 
pythoness, and the jailer of Philippi with his 
whole family: so that, notwithstanding the 
hardships involved, Paul had reason to rejoice 
in many trophies of grace. 

It was now 64 A. D. Eleven years had © 
elapsed, eventful years. Paul was a prisoner 
in the Praetorian camp at Rome, nearing the 
end of his busy life. 'The memories of past 
sufferings and blessings came crowding thick 
and fast upon him. He saw again the beck- 
oning hands of Macedonia. Hence this letter. 

Observe its greetings: “I have you in my 
heart”; “I long after you”; “I thank my God 


PAUL’S LETTERS 433 


upon every remembrance of you”; “In every 
prayer of mine for you all making request 
with joy”; “I am confident that he which hath 
begun a good work in you will perfect it”; 
and (of course) “The grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ be with you all.” 

Then another of Paul’s wonderful prayers 
(verses 9-11) in which he asks (1) that these 
Philippian Christians may “abound in knowl- 
edge and common sense” (margin), (2) that 
they may “‘try the things that differ’ (mar- 
gin) and so discriminate between truth and 
error; (3) that they “may be sincere and with- 
out offence until the coming of Christ,’ and 
(4) that they “may be filled with the fruits 
of righteousness unto the glory and praise of 
God.” What more could be desired? 

And after that, throughout the whole of 
this brief Epistle, he dwells upon the Greater 
Salvation, i. e., the “good work” which the 
Lord had “begun” in them. Only begun, 
mark you. If any Christian imagines that the 
end of salvation is mere deliverance from the 
penalty of sin he is tremendously mistaken. 
The moment one accepts Christ as his Saviour 
he is truly and entirely saved from all danger 


434°) (LIEK AND CE PEERS: OFOST PAUL 


of spiritual death; but if that were all it would 
merely induct him into the vestibule of a mea- 
ger heaven. This is but the initial step of a 
journey whose end is perfection—perfection 
in character and perfect efficiency in the 
Lord’s service. 


THE MINISTRY OF SUFFERING 


CHaprer | 


The first factor which enters into the prob- 
lem of the Greater Salvation is suffering for 
Christ’s sake. A church member who knows 
nothing of this has reason to suspect his call- 
ing. It is only those who have offered them- 
selves to “the fellowship of the sufferings of 
Christ for righteousness’ sake” who shall ulti- 
mately put on the crown of righteousness and 
reign with him. 

(1) As for himself, says Paul, though his 
“bonds in Christ are manifest,” they in com- 
mon with everything else that has happened, 
“have fallen out unto the furtherance of the 
Gospel”; wherefore his friends in Philippi 
must not worry on his account. It is enough 
for him that Christ is being “magnified in his 
body, whether it be by life or by death.” 


PAUSE TUERS 435 


(2) As for themselves, he exhorts them to 
“be nothing terrified by their adversaries,” be- 
cause it “is given unto them, in the behalf 
of Christ, not only to believe on him but also 
to suffer for his sake.” Paul could think of 
no greater privilege than to “fill up that which 
is behind of the sufferings of Christ,” a privi- 
lege of which their persecutions were a mani- 
fest proof and token. Tor if they were duly 
“exercised thereby” they would find that in 
patient endurance they were moving on 
toward the ultimate attainment of gis 
in the spiritual life. 

We who are living in these piping times of 
peace can scarcely realize what all this meant 
to the Christians of those days: but it is as 
true now as ever that cross-bearing is an im- 
measurable factor in character-building, and 
that those who suffer with Christ shall also 
reign with him. 


IMITATIO CHRISTI 


CHAPTER 2 


The second of the factors that enter into the 
attainment of the Greater Salvation is the 
imitation of Christ. “Let this mind be in 


436 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


you,” says Paul, “which was also in Christ 
Jesus.” 

In explaining what he means by “the mind 
that was in Christ Jesus,” the Apostle sets 
forth a great doctrine, called by the early fa- 
thers “The Kenosis,”’ which is not sufficiently 
emphasized in our time (verses 5-11). 

First, Christ was “in the form of God,” a 
reference to his pre-existence “in the glory 
of the Father before the world was.” 

Second, though he was “‘equal with God” he 
did not think the “form” of his Godhead was 
to be so cherished as to prevent his working 
out salvation for the children of men. 

Third, in order to accomplish his beneficent 
purpose in our behalf he became incarnate, 
laying aside his divine “form” and taking 
upon him “the form of a servant, being made 
in the likeness of sinful men,” that so he might 
expiate our sins by becoming “obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross.” 

Fourth, by this temporary surrender of his 
divine glory he wrought out for himself an im- 
measurable triumph. When he returned again 
to “the glory which he had with the Father 
before the world was,’ what a welcome 


PAUL'S LETTERS 437 


awaited him! “Lift up your heads, O ye gates, 
and let the King of glory enter in!” The 
gates of heaven are ever thronged with a 
countless multitude who enter to sing the 
praises of him who hath redeemed them with 
his blood. These are “the fruit of the travail 
of his soul,’ of whom it was _ prophesied, 
“When thou shalt make his soul an offering 
for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong 
his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in his hand.” 

This, then, is the doctrine of the Kenosis, 
or “self-emptying” of Christ. This is the 
mind of self-denial that was in Christ Jesus; 
and this is the mind that must also be in those 
who profess to follow him. 

And just here is where Paul strikes the 
keynote of the whole Epistle in these words: 
“Wherefore work out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling, for it 1s God that worketh 
in you. It is obvious that he does not refer 
to mere salvation from the penalty of sin; 
for all along he has been strenuously insisting 
that a salvation of that sort is of grace and not 
by works. “Ye are saved by faith, and that 
not your own, it is the gift of God.” <A larger 


438) OLIFETAND ALE IARERS OPS oP Wo 


salvation is here designated, in which we co- 
operate with God. It begins at the moment 
when one accepts Christ and is “worked out” 
as he goes on thenceforward from grace to 
grace, from glory to glory, translating faith 
into the known terms of character and _ use- 
fulness, until it ends in a salvation not “so as 
by fire,” but with a triumphant and abundant 
entrance into the Kingdom of God. 

We are encouraged to work out this great 
salvation, because God “worketh in us to will 
and to do of his good pleasure.” We know 
what that “good pleasure” is: it is that we 
should make the most of ourselves by serving 
him and our fellow-men. In thus co-opera- 
ting with his indwelling Spirit we may be 
confident of ultimately attaining unto com- 
plete sanctification; for “if God be for us, 
who can be against us?” 


FIRST FINALLY 


CuapTer 3 


“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.” 
Why “finally”? Because in striking this ex- 
ultant note the Apostle had reached a good 
stopping-place. We shall find another “‘final- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 439 


ly” further on and one of vast importance; 
all of which intimates that Paul had reached 
such momentum that, like many an earnest 
preacher, he found two finallys necessary for 
the “practical application” of his theme. 


But why “rejoice”? What ground of re- 
joicing had these persecuted church members 
of Philippi? This in particular, that in much 
tribulation and by the patient imitation of 
Christ they were surely working out for them- 
selves a salvation which would ultimately in- 
troduce them into the immediate presence of 
him at whose right hand are pleasures for- 
evermore. 

“Rejoice, ye pure in heart, 

Rejoice, give thanks and sing; 
Your glorious banner waves on high, 
The Cross of Christ your King! 

Still lift your standard high, 
Still march in firm array! 


As warriors, through the darkness toil 
Till dawns the golden day!” 


Now here is a wonderful thing. Unable 
to restrain himself, this worn-out, half-blind, 
crippled old soldier of the Cross gives way to 
his joy in such boasting as, under other cir- 


440 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


cumstances, would have been most unseemly 
(verses 4-14). But his boasting is neither 
here nor ever in himself: his birth as “a He- 
brew of the Hebrews,” his “righteousness as 
touching the Law,” his zeal, culture, Roman 
citizenship—all these are less than nothing. 
“To know Christ and be found in him,” this 
is his heavenly privilege, his river of joy, his 
irrepressible boast! | 

A. boy again in Tarsus, he sits in the agora 
witnessing an Olympic race. The king stands 
by the golden milestone holding the laurel 
wreath. The athletes, stripped to the waist, 
with every muscle tense, are at the purple line. 
The signal is given; the runners are off! Be- 
hold how Paul imagines himself among them: 
“Brethren, I count not myself to have appre- 
hended (i. e., laid hands upon the prize); but 
this one thing I-do: forgetting those things 
which are behind and reaching forth unto those 
things which are before, I press toward the 
mark (the milestone) for the prize (the laurel 
crown) of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus!” 

And what is this “high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus”? What but the calling of God 


PAUL’S LETTERS 441 


to come up higher? What but the calling of 
Christ our King to so run as to obtain the un- 
fading crown of righteousness? What but 
the call of the Holy Spirit to co-operate with 
him in working out for ourselves that Greater 
Salvation which means not a scant “‘title clear 
to mansions in the skies” but the service chev- 
ron and promotion to the front rank of service 
in the Kingdom of God? 

In pursuance of this injunction the Apos- 
tle warns the Christians of Philippi to be ever 
on guard against “dogs (i. e., carnal and mas- 
terless), evil workers, and the concision” (1. e., 
compromise with ceremonialism), and to have 
their “conversation” (1. e., manner of life) in 
heaven “from whence we look for the coming 


of Christi? 


SECOND FINALLY 


CHAPTER 4 


“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are 
true, whatsoever things are honest (serious), 
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things 
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, what- 
soever things are of good report, if there be 


442 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


any virtue and if there be any praise, think 
on these things.” 


STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN! 


Our troubles and disappointments are most 
largely due to thoughtlessness. “I didn’t 
think” shuts the gates of heaven to a great 
multitude that no man can number. ‘The 
sweet reasonableness of the Great Salvation 
commends it to all thoughtful men. Every- 
body would believe in Christ were it not that 
many refuse to look at him long enough to 
know him. 


STAND FAST! 


“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved, so 
stand fast in the Lord.” Steadfastness is 
merely another way of spelling Standfastness. 
It is well to do well, but “patient continuance 
in well-doing” is what we need most of all. 
Wherefore let us run and not faint. The 
word of the Master is, “Be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” 

The Epistle closes with a grateful acknowl- 
edgment of the kindness of Paul’s Philippian 
friends in contributing “once and again” to 


PAUL’S LETTERS 443 


his necessities. He wishes them to know, how- 
ever, that the Lord is abundantly providing 
for him. Then the customary salutations, and 
last of all “The grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ be with you all,” without which he can 
never conclude his messages of love. 


VII 


THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 
THE CHRISTOCENTRIC EPISTLE 


It was while Paul was still a prisoner in the 
Pretorian camp at Rome that Epaphras, the 
minister of the church at Colosse, came to 
visit him. It was a long journey from Colosse 
in the center of Asia Minor to Rome; and 
only an errand of grave importance could war- 
rant it. The church there had been founded 
by Paul but he had long been separated 
from it. Its pastor now was troubled by dis- 
sensions among its members, due to the 
presence of false teachers who had been 
“spoiling them through philosophy and vain 
deceit.” Under these circumstances, who 
would be so likely to give him wise counsel 
as Paul the aged, with his vast experience 
and tact in the administration of church af- 
fairs?) EKpaphras found the old man in chains 
and bowed under many burdens, but busy as 
always, unconquerably cheerful and ready to 

44-4 


PAUL’S LETTERS 445 


entertain his visitor with all the resources of a 
most Christian heart and hospitable hand. 


It chanced that before this visit was over a 
disciple named Tychicus was constrained to 
make a journey into the east via Colosse; and 
Paul took advantage of the opportunity to 
write this Epistle and forward it by him. It 
will be observed that, in the prefatory greet- 
ing, the apostle takes occasion to speak to the 
members of the Colossian Church of Epaph- 
ras, their absent pastor, as “a faithful muinis- 
ter of Christ,” and again in his closing salu- 
tations as one “laboring fervently for you 
in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and 
complete in all the will of God.” 


The letter opens with “Grace be unto you,” 
which is fcllowed by loving salutations, and 
then by another of Paul’s wonderful prayers 
(verses 9-15). In this prayer for the church 
members of Colosse he asks three things in 
particular: First, for their “knowledge of 
God’s will,” that they might “walk worthy 
of him.” Second, for strength “according to 
his glorious power” so that in their afflictions 
they might be “patient with joyfulness.” And 


446 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


third, for gratitude by reason of their trans- 
lation into “the Kingdom of his dear Son.” 


THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST 


CHapter | 


(1) As Creator. “AII things in heaven and 
earth, visible and invisible, were created by 
him and for him” (verses 16, 17). 

(2) As “Head of the Church which is his 
body”: wherefore he, being “the first-born 
from the dead,” is Elder Brother of all those 
who are quickened from the dead by a living 
faith in him (verses 18-20). 

(3) As “Reconciler of all things unto him- 
self.” An earnest and forecast of his univer- 
sal reign, when every knee shall bow before’ 
him, is given in the reconciliation of these 
Christians of Colosse, who “were sometime 
alienated and enemies by wicked works,” but 
were now incorporated “into the body of his 
flesh,” that they might ultimately be presented 
“holy and unblamable and unreprovable in 
his sight”? (verses 21-23). 

To declare this supremacy of Christ, says 
Paul, is “the end of his ministry” (verses 24- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 447 


29). And by the same token, it must be the 
aim and purpose of every faithful minister. 
This brings us to “the riches of the glory 
of the Mystery” (verses 27-29). What is the 
mystery here referred to? Nothing less than 
“Christ in you!” By this we are given to un- 
derstand that the life of Christ as Head of the 
Church pervades the humblest of the members 
of his body. Here is a truth that goes deeper 
even than the intimation in the parable of 
the Vine and its branches. ‘The will of Christ 
as Saviour of the world moves in us and 
“works mightily” through us! Blessed is the 
Christian who realizes this mystery, for so it 
comes to pass that the Kingdom of God is 
within us and “the hope of glory” before us. 


THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST 


CHAPTER 2 


We have here a clear statement of the great 
doctrine of the Pleroma, or fulness of Christ. 
(1) In him, says Paul, are “hid all the treas- 
ures of wisdom and knowledge”: this against 
the false teaching not only of the Judaizers and 
Platonists of Colosse, but everywhere in these 


448 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


last days. What a safeguard would be ours 
against all error were we willing to sit as dis- 
ciples at the feet of our Master instead of lis- 
tening at the false oracles of those who would 
“beguile us with enticing words.” 

(2) “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily.’”’ Observe the comprehensive- 
ness of this statement: “all fulness’”—“all the 
fulness of the Godhead’—“all the fulness of 
the Godhead bodily!” If every other affirma- 
tion of Scripture—and they are many and 
divers—with respect to the eternal and co- 
equal divineness of Christ were to be explained 
away, here is a challenge so clear, definite and 
conclusive that it can only be answered by an 
outspoken denial of the Scriptures as the 
Word of God. 

(3) “In him ye are complete.” For this 
let us substitute the quaint rendering of the 
Wycliffe version, “In hym ye ben fylled.” 
What need of consulting pagan philosophy if 
“all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” 
are offered in Christ? Or why go back to “the 
rudiments” of Jewish ceremonialism if, as 
Paul says, “ye are circumcised in Christ by 
the putting off of sin’? The prophetic pur- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 449 


pose of the Levitical law, as “a shadow of 
things to come,” was so perfectly fulfilled in 
Christ as its antitype that he absolutely “blot- 
ted out this handwriting of ordinances (1. e., 
the Ceremonial Law), nailing it to his cross” 
and so “taking it out of the way.” 

(4) Therefore, says Paul, “let no man be- 
guile you” into any mode of thinking or be- 
heving which does not hold to Christ as “the 
Head, from which all the body is knit together, 
being nourished in its joints and bands, and 
thus increasing with the increase of God.” In 
other words, Christ for the Christian is Alpha 
and Omega, the beginning of hope and the 
end of endeavor; first, last, midst and all in 
all. 


OUR LIFE IN CHRIST 


CHaprTer 3 


“If ye be risen with Christ’—a mighty, 
comprehensive “if”! For the man who is not 
risen with Christ is still dead in trespasses and 
sins, inasmuch as he is still “concluded” under 
the law which says “The soul that sinneth it 
shall die.” But faith in Christ links us so vi- 
tally with him that we triumph in his triumph 


450 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


over death and hell. “Because he liveth we 
shall live also!” Or, to speak again with 
Wesley, “We two are so joined, he can't go 
to heaven and leave me behind.” ‘The believ- 
er—always assuming that his faith is heart- 
wise—is forever safe, because his “‘life is hid 
with Christ in God’—hid as a beleaguered 
garrison in an impregnable castle, so secure- 
ly that the blazing gates of hell shall not pre- 
vail against him. 

But the mighty “if” is followed by an 
equally mighty , therefore.” ., If, a, man) be 
truly risen with Christ it must follow, as the 
night the day, that his walk and conversation 
will show it. First, by a “putting off” of 
“the old man with his deeds” (verses 5-9). 
Second, by a “putting on” of “the new man 
who is renewed after the image of Christ” 
(verses 10-14). Third, by the indwelling and 
supreme control of the Word and peace of 
God (verses 15, 16); and fourth, by an out- 
going of this indwelling life “in word and 
deed” (verses 17-25). 

There is cold comfort for a melancholy 
Christian in this presentment of the case; 
since even our “teaching and admonition” 


PAUL’S LETTERS 451 


must be with the joy of “singing in psalms 
and hymns and spiritual songs.” Alas, then, 
for those who “wear long faces, just as if 
their Maker, the Lord of glory, were an un- 
dertaker!” To look dyspeptic is ill becoming 
to one who is risen with Christ. It is a poor 
way of showing that his religion agrees with 
him. Wherefore “whatsoever we do’— 
whether it be to carry a banner or a burden— 
let us “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
giving thanks to God and the Father by 
him.” 

The remainder of this chapter is addressed 
to husbands and wives, parents and children, 
masters and servants, with reference to the 
supreme duty of serving “‘not with eyeservice, 
as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, 
fearing God,” 


SALUTATIONS 
CHAPTER 4 
Nothing remains but to salute the brethren 
in the fellowship of this mystery. 


(1) Tell them to “continue in prayer,” not 
forgetting to “pray for me that I may speak 


4520); LIFEVAN DAUIGTEGER SO Hirsi BA Bs 


the mystery of Christ and manifest it as I 
ought to.” 


(2) Tell them “to walk in wisdom toward 
them that are without” (i. e., the “friendly 
citizens”), seasoning their speech with salt, 
that they “may know how to answer every 


99 


man. 


(3) Say to Archippus, who brings you this 
letter, “Take heed to the ministry which thou 
hast received of the Lord, that thou fulfil 
Lins . 

(4) Tychicus (“a beloved brother’), Ones- 
imus (the runaway slave, “who is one of 
you’), Aristarchus (“my fellow prisoner’), 
Marcus (the same John Mark who once for- 
sook us, Acts 13:13), Epaphras (your own 
“faithful minister,’ now visiting me), Luke 
(“the beloved physician”), Demas (not al- 
ways reliable, 2 Tim. 4:10)—all these salute 
you. 


(5) Salute not only the brethren in Co- 
losse, but those in the neighboring town of 
Laodicea; and “cause that this letter be read 
likewise to them.” ‘To them? “How far yon 
little candle throws its beams!” ‘The round- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 453 


robin has crossed the Seven Seas and all the 
intervening centuries even down to us! 

(6) “The salutation by the hand of me 
Paul.” It is thus intimated that, while the 
doctrinal parts of this Epistle were dictated 
to an amanuensis, the greetings were in the 
handwriting of Paul himself: as if to illus- 
trate the saying, “Now abide these three, 
faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these 
is love.’ In all the world there is no tie 
like “the tie that binds our hearts in Chris- 
tian love.” 

And after that, nothing remains but to say, 
“Grace be with you?” 


VIII 


FIRST THESSALONIANS 


THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 


The date of this letter is A. D. 52. It is 
the first of Paul’s letters on record, having 
been written seventeen years after his con- 
version. No doubt he had written others pre- 
viously, but this, like the other thirteen which 
are included in the canon of the Scriptures, 
was composed under the immediate direction 
of the Spirit of God. 

It was written at Athens, under the follow- 
ing circumstances: When Paul set out from 
Antioch with Silas on his second missionary 
journey he crossed the Hellespont into Ku- 
rope, preached at Philippi, where he was 
scourged and imprisoned; passed on to Thes- 
salonica, where after three successful weeks 
he was driven out by a mob; proceeded to 
Berea, where further opposition awaited him, 
and had now reached Athens, where he was 
hoping to continue in peace. In order to as- 
sure himself as to the welfare of those recent- 

454 


PAUL’S LETTERS 455 


ly converted he sent Timothy back to revisit 
them. ‘The report appears to have been 
favorable except in the case of the Thessalo- 
nians, who were greatly disturbed by certain 
misapprehensions as to the Second Coming. 
They expected this to occur in the immediate 
future: indeed they were looking for it with 
the dawn of every day. 

In this connection, they were fearful lest 
their deceased friends would have to sleep in 
their graves until the final resurrection, while 
they themselves at his coming were to be 
caught up into the air to meet him. 

It was to correct such erroneous views that 
this letter was written. ‘The necessity was 
pressing, because many of these recent con- 
verts had, in the enthusiasm of their new 
hope, given up all attention to secular af- 
fairs and put on ascension robes, so to speak, 
in anticipation of Christ’s appearance. There 
was a hurry-call for action, and Paul, under 
the influence of the Spirit, was impelled to 
meet it. 

A word, before we go any further, as to 
Thessalonica and its people. The city, for- 
merly called Therma, had been restored and 


456 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


greatly improved by Cassander, a general in 
the Macedonian army, after winning a battle 
there, 300 B. C., and had been renamed in 
honor of his wife, a sister of Alexander the 
Great. The place was from the beginning 
a famous resort for Jews. It ultimately be- 
came an important center of Christian influ- 
ence, from which the Gospel “sounded forth” 
like a clarion to all the surrounding region. 
(Chap. 1:8.) In recent times Salonica has 
been the seat of important events in the 
World War. It has a population of about 
100,000, one-third of whom are Jews. 


OUTLINE 


The skill of Paul as a dialectician will be 
observed in his method of gradual approach. 
He does not plunge at once into the business 
in hand—that is, the correction of mistakes as 
to the Second Coming—but, like an experi- 
enced barrister, or diplomatist, he advances 
other considerations, not unimportant in 
themselves, to prepare the way. 

He begins with the salutation “Grace be 
unto you.” This is the sign-manual of all 
Paul’s letters. By “grace” he means the un- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 457 


merited favor of God in the gift of his only- 
begotten Son. 
“Grace, ‘tis a charming sound, 
Harmonious to the ear; 
Heaven with the echo shall resound, 
And all the earth shall hear.” 
Our salvation is not of merit but of grace. 
The word is cognate with gratis. God is not 
a merchant, that he should sell heaven for a 
quid pro quo; and, if he were, what coin 
have we that could pass current between us? 
Good works? What are they to him? He 
is no merchant bartering with bankrupt men, 
but a King, the very King of kings, with a 
heart as generous as his inexhaustible excheq- 
uer, loving to give and giving right royally. 
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the 
waters; yea, come; buy wine and milk with- 
out money and without price!” 

But alas, our natural pride revolts! We 
would fain be saved but not for nothing. Let 
us earn heaven by “deeds of the law,” by 
penance and ceremonial observance and long 
pilgrimages, anything rather than “without 
money and without price.” Yet on this point 
the Gospel is clear: we must be justified by 


458 LIFE: AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


faith alone, which is simply a heartfelt ac- 
ceptance of the unspeakable gift. 

As we proceed with Paul’s letters we shall 
find this thought of salvation by grace per- 
vading every one of them. “By the deeds of 
the law shall no flesh be justified.” “For 
what the law could not do, in-that it was weak 
through the flesh (i. e., our sinful flesh), 
God, sending his own Son in the likeness of 
sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in 
the flesh, that the righteousness of the law 
might be fulfilled in us who walk not after 
the flesh but after the Spirit.” Wherefore 
salvation is free, its only condition being faith 
in Christ as our Saviour. It cannot be earned 
by anything we can do. “This is the work 
of God (i. e., the only work that can make us 
acceptable in his sight), that ye believe on him 
whom God hath sent.” That is to say, we 
must be willing to be saved gratis or not at 
all. 


THANKSGIVING 
Cuapter 1 
(1) Paul is grateful to God for their elec- 
tion and conversion, and for their “work of 
faith and labor of love and patience of hope.” 


PAUL’S LETTERS 459 


The Gospel which Paul had preached to them 
had come “not only in word but in power, 
in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance.” 
Of this they had given proof by “turning 
from idols to serve the living and true God.” 

(2) Nor was this all; not content with the 
assurance of their own salvation, they had 
“sounded abroad” the Gospel in all the sur- 
rounding country; and that despite “much 
affliction” or opposition and persecution on 
the part of Jews and others who differed with 
them. 

By the time the members of the Thessalo- 
nian Church had listened to the reading of the 
letter thus far they would probably have con- 
ceived a rather more than fair opinion of 
themselves: but as it proceeds they would be 
likely to discover plenty of room for improve- 
ment. Paul is no novice in the art of per- 
suasion. Was he not a disciple of Gamaliel, 
that famous advocate who was called “the 
Flower of the Law’? 


REMEMBRANCE 
CHAPTER 2 


(1) He reminds them of his pastoral care; 
how he had gone in and out among them 


460 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ‘ST. PAUL 


99 «666 


night and day, “gently as a nurse,” “charg- 
ing and exhorting and comforting as a father 
doth his children’; and how, meanwhile, he 
had worked at his trade as a tentmaker so 
“that he might not be chargeable unto them.” 
A good pastor, this man. 


(2) He reminds them also of his preach- 
ing: how he had declared the truth as God 
had given him to see it, without fear or favor, 
“not of guile nor with fiattering words, not 
as pleasing men but God.’ What better test 
of faithful preaching could there be? 


(3) Moreover he reminds them to their 
credit how joyously they had received his 
message, “not as the word of men but, as it 
is in truth, the Word of God.” 


(4) And, better still, he reminds them how 
they had translated this hearing of the Gospel 
into the terms of common life; “suffering 
of their own countrymen” without resent- 
ment, and seeking to fellow Christ and ex- 
emplify the truth as he taught it. 

(5) For all this Paul congratulates both 
himself and them, saying, “Ye are our glory 
and joy.” 


PAURS LET BERS 461 


PASTORAL CONCERN 


Cuapter 3 


He explains why he had sent OLY to 
visit them. 

(1) To begin with, his young friend was 
instructed to comfort them in their afflictions. 
It would appear that the Jews in Thessalo- 
nica were giving these Christians no peace. 
“We told you before,” says Paul, “that ye 
should suffer tribulation, even as it has come 
to pass”; “but now we live, if ye stand fast 
in the Lord.” To stand fast, and “having 
done all to stand’—with what a martial 
sound that message rings, over and over 
again, from the brave lips of this veteran of 
the Holy War! 

(2) His other purpose in sending Timo- 
thy, he says, was “to establish them concern- 
ing their faith.” It is a great thing to be es- 
tablished in faith, to be able to lay one’s 
hand on certain fundamentals and _ say, 
“These things I know!” There is no room 
for an if or a peradventure in the teaching 
of Christ. Put an if under the manger, the 
cross or the open sepulchre, and it will prove 


462 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


as disastrous as a charge of dynamite. The 
only escape from the distress of doubt and 
uncertainty is in turning a deaf ear to the 
caviller, taking Christ at his word and rest- 
ing in him. 
SANCTIFICATION 
CHAPTER 4 

“This is the will of God, even your sancti- 
fication.” | 

(1) Personal purity. The besetting sin of 
the Thessalonians was sensuality. In accord- 
ance with Paul’s custom he calls a spade a 
spade, dealing with marital infidelity and so- 
cial promiscuity in unmeasured terms. Here 
is another of those portions of Scripture which 
was not intended to be read aloud in public 
assemblies or even at the family altar, but in 
the secret place, where all alone a man faces 
the searching eyes of God. 

(2) Brotherly love. Not even in dealing 
with the most scandalous offenders against 
the law of personal purity must the Church 
forget the requirements of Christian charity: 
“for ye are taught to love one another: but 
we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase 
more and more,” 


PAUL’S LETTERS 463 


(3) Attention to business. The apostle is 
now approaching his main object, which is 
to persuade these Christians to take a sober 
and sensible view of religion, particularly 
with reference to the Second Coming of 
Christ. “Study to be quiet,” he says; for 
they were so enthusiastically overwrought by 
their consuming interest in the Parousia that 
they were in danger of overlooking other im- 
portant matters. It is well to be zealously 
affected in a good cause; but the zeal of 
these church members of Thessalonica had over- 
ripened into a veritable fanaticism which led 
them into a disregard of the common duties 
of life. “Do your own business,” says Paul; 
“work with your own hands, walk honestly 
toward them that are without.” It is time 
to call a halt when a man’s interpretation of 
any Christian doctrine sets him at odds with 
the welfare of the workaday world about him. 

(4) Freedom from anwiety. In thinking of 
the Resurrection of the Dead in relation to 
the Second Coming of Christ these Christians 
of Thessalonica had somehow arrived at the 
conclusion that while they were to be “caught 
up into the air to meet him,” their dead were 


404  DIREVAN DIP E DUE RSIO tol ees Cle 


to sleep for an indefinite period; which in- 
volved a frightful separation! But Paul as- 
sures them that nothing of the sort awaited 
them. ‘Their loved ones who had fallen asleep 
in Christ were “first to rise’ and then those 
who remained were to be “caught up together 
with them,” so that all would be “together 
with the Lord.” Blessed reunion! Happy 
day! 
AS TO THE TIMES AND SEASONS 
Cuaprer 5 

(1) The Lord himself had said with ref- 
erence to his coming again, “It is not for 
you to know the times or the seasons, which 
the Father hath put in his own power.” (Acts 
1:7.) This should be sufficient for all who 
are inclined to a close mathematical interpre- 
tation of the prophecies bearing upon this 
event. 

(2) But “ye yourselves know that the day 
of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the 
night”; that is, unexpectedly. When men 
are looking for it is the very time when it 
is unlikely to come to pass. 

(3) Wherefore, to be watchful is the im- 
portant matter. “Let us not sleep as do 


PAUL'S LETTERS 465 


others, but let us watch and be _ sober.” 
Watch! Watch! Watch and pray! “Blessed 
are all they that love his appearing!” 


“T know not when—I only know the fact 
That he is coming, and he bids me wait 
In joyful expectation day by day. 
Uncertainty does not one whit detract 
From me the joy of watching at the gate; 
It rather adds delight and buoyancy 

To my fair hope— 
That any night, or any day, 
I quickly may be called away 
To meet the Lord. 

“But though I do not know the how or when, 
I know my Lord, and ’tis for him I wait. 
Long years the blessed hope of seeing him 
Has been my joy. And though beyond my ken 
The day and hour of the opening gate, 

And many happenings to my mind are dim, 
Yet this I know— 
That any night, or any day, 
I gently may be caught away 
To meet the Lord.” 


All Christians are ‘‘millenarians’; but 
whether “pre” or “post” involves a futile and 
unseemly controversy. Let it suffice that 
Christ is coming, and that we watch and 
prayerfully wait for him; not as those who 
look out of the windows toward the east, but 
rather as servants with sickle in hand and 


466 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


sleeves rolled back addressing ourselves to 
the harvesting of the fields of God. 

He is coming, coming “even as he went 
into heaven,” coming in the clouds of heaven 
and all the holy angels with him! Though 
the prophecies bearing upon this supreme 
event, like all other prophecies, involve not 
only a revelation but an adumbration (that 
is, a purposed dimness as to particulars, leay- 
ing room for the exercise of faith), neverthe- 
less the fact itself is unveiled in clearest light. 
All such prophecies in their lack of perspec- 
tive are like Japanese pictures: you will 
search them in vain for the foreshortening of 
details but always in the background behold 
Fujiyama, snow-crowned Fujiyama! So rings 
the word Maranatha through all the vague 
prophecies of Scripture. Maranatha! ‘The 
Lord cometh!” This is that “one supreme 
event to which the whole creation moves.” 

Amen: even so come, Lord Jesus! Roll 
swifter round, ye wheels of time, and bring 
the welcome day! 


IX 


SECOND THESSALONIANS 


THE SECOND COMING (Continued) 


Time. A. D. 52; Shortly after the former letter, 
Place. Written from Athens. 


Not long after the First Epistle had been 
despatched to Thessalonica it came to Paul’s 
knowledge that a spurious letter, purporting 
to have been written by him (chap. 2:2) had 
enkindled a. more passionate hope than ever 
among the Christians there for the immediate 
coming of Christ. He now writes briefly and 
in haste to disavow the erroneous views which, 
in that forged letter, had been attributed to 
him. 


CONGRATULATIONS 


CHAPTER I 


He begins with his customary greeting 
“Grace unto you,” and proceeds at once to 
assure them of his thankfulness for their 
growth in three Christian graces. 

467 


468 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


First: “Because your faith groweth exceed- 
ingly.” <A little faith if it “groweth” is better 
than a larger faith that simply holds its own. 
Here is the deeper significance of the mus- 
tard seed, not that it is “indeed the least of 
all seeds,” but that it “groweth into a tree, 
so that the fowls of the air come and lodge 
in the branches of it.” The church members 
of Thessalonica were entitled to the greater 
credit because their faith grew in spite of 
the fact that false teachers had _ insidiously 
crept in among them. It is by the upward 
look and a purposeful resistance to error that 
we become great believers. We are in no dan- 
ger of drifting from our moorings so long as 
we have an anchor to windward, “an anchor 
sure and steadfast and taking hold of that 
which is within the veil.” 

Second: “Your love aboundeth toward each 
other.” No doubt there were differences of 
opinion among these people, but they knew 
how to differ and keep sweet. ‘There were 
grounds for mutual criticism, but they had 
learned that “charity suffereth long and is 
kind.” They were not intent on pulling motes 
out of each other’s eyes with hot pincers, but 


PAUL’S LETTERS 469 


rather with that delicate touch of sympathy 
which transforms fault-finding into a heaven- 
ly grace and makes a whole Gospel of the 
proverb, “Faithful are the wounds of a 
friend.” 

Third: “Ye are patient in persecution and 
tribulation,’ which, says Paul, are permitted 
“that ye may be counted worthy of the King- 
dom of God.” If we must needs suffer, it 
is comforting to know that our sufferings are 
a part of the Father’s gracious plan to fit 
us for glory further on. A woodchopper does 
not complain of the knots which he encoun- 
ters, but wisely and consistently regards them 
as “all in the day’s work.” So must we: be- 
cause we know that our adversity, whatever 
it may be, is included in the “all things” 
that “work together for good to them that 
love God.” 

So much for Paul’s congratulations. He 
follows them with an earnest prayer for three 
things: first, “that our God. would count you 
worthy of this calling’; second, that he would 
“fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness” 
(what a complexity of divine love is em- 
braced in those words!); and third, that he 


470 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


would fulfil “the work of faith with power.” 
Three great petitions; and, for ourselves, 
amen to them! 


CORRECTION 


CHAPTER 2 


Here is where the forged letter comes in: — 
“‘We beseech you, brethren, that ye be not 
soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither 
by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from 
US. | 

“Shaken” from what? From the truth 
with respect to the Parousia, as Paul had 
previously declared it. 

“Troubled” about what? About the happy 
reunion with the scattered members of the 
family when Christ should come again to 
claim his own. 

One sign is given as a safeguard against 
any possible misapprehension with respect to 
the great event, namely, “That day shall not 
come except there come a falling away first 
and that man of sin be revealed.” 

(1) As to the “falling away,” no explana- 
tion is needed. It is always going on, due 
to false teaching in the very air. The propa- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 471 


ganda is carried on “by spirit and by word 
and by letter as from us.” Books and news- 
papers are full of it, and there is no lack 
of pulpits to spread it. And alas, to those 
who lend a willing ear, “God sendeth strong 
delusion, that they should believe a lie!” Our 
only safety lies in steadfastness; that is, in 
steering by the Word of God. No man can 
take fire into his bosom without being burned 
by it. 

(2) But what of “that man of sin”! This 
“mystery of iniquity doth already work,” and 
he shall be “revealed in his time.” There are 
certain marks, however, by which he may be 
recognized. ‘To begin with, “he sitteth in the 
Temple of God.” Moreover “he showeth 
himself that he is God’; by which we under- 
stand that he assumes divine authority by 
making himself the Court of Final Appeal in 
all problems of the spiritual life. Still fur- 
ther, “his coming is after the working of Sa- 
tan, with all power and signs and lying won- 
ders.” By putting these marks together we 
have the very portrait of Antichrist as 
painted elsewhere by the Apostle John: 
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus 


4/2, LIFE AND LEDDERS OF ST) PAUL 


is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth 
the Father and the Son.” (See 1 John 2:18- 
22, also 2 John 7.) 

It thus appears that any denial of the co- 
equality of Jesus with the Father or any as- 
sumption of authority which conflicts with 
his as set forth in the Scriptures is a direct 
emanation from the “mystery of iniquity” 
and, therefore, to be scrupulously repelled by 
all who would not be “given over to believe 
He les 4 

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold 
the traditions which ye have been taught.” 
Traditions, forsooth! Are we not warned 
against “traditional religion” here and there 
and everywhere! But what is meant by “tra- 
dition” except that which is handed down; 
that is, from those who have gone before us? 
To be sure, it is a preposterous thing to 
accept any doctrine for the sole reason that 
our fathers believed it; but it is folly un- 
speakable to reject “the old-time religion” 
merely because of past approval. The best 
things in the world are old. Old air, old 
sunshine, old spring-water—who can improve 


ce 


upon them? In everything except “new 


PAUD SFLETIDERS 4.73 


thought” (God save the mark!) the pre- 
sumption is always in favor of experience. 
“Ring out the old, rg in the new’? Surely, 
if only we “ring out the false, ring in the 
true!” 

The Germans have a proverb: “Take heed 
lest you throw out the baby with the bath- 
water.” Many an adventurous captain has 
courted defeat by cutting off his army from 
its source of supplies. We are safe so long 
as we rest our ultimate faith in the binomial 
revelation, namely, the Incarnate and written 
Word of God. The moment a Christian 
abandons these, allured by the man of sin 
in any guise whatsoever, he is like a planet 
sweeping out of its orbit and lost in infinite 
space. Wherefore it behooves us to earnestly 
contend for the faith delivered to the saints 
once for all. 

This chapter of the Epistle, so full of por- 
tentous warning and exhortation, closes with 
an assurance of -Paul’s confidence in the 
steadfastness of his 'Thessalonian friends: 
“We are bound to give thanks, brethren be- 
loved, because God hath chosen you.” Chosen 
them to what? Four great things: “Salva- 


474 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


tion, Sanctification, Belief of the Truth and 
the Obtaining of Glory.” What more could 
be desired? Much more, as the following 
chapter will disclose to us. 


MUTUAL PRAYER 


CHAPTER 3 


There is something pathetic in this “Breth- 
ren, pray for us.” Why should these Thes- 
salonians be praying for Paul in Athens? 
Ah, there was a tie between them stronger 
than the strongest tie of consanguinity! He 
was not only a fellow-Christian but. a former 
pastor of these people, and, with the burden 
of all the churches upon him, he needed their 
sympathy and co-operation, even as Moses 
needed the upholding of his hands by Aaron 
and Hur in the valley of Rephidim. And he 
does not hesitate to mention the special 
prayers that they were desired to offer for 
him. 

First, that the Word which he preached 
might “have free course and be glorified’; 
in other words, that his sermons might not 
be like water poured upon the ground, which 


PAUL’S LETTERS 475 


cannot be gathered up again, but rather like 
good seed sown in good ground and bearing 
fruit abundantly in the salvation of souls to 
the glory of God. 

Second, that he might be “delivered from 
unreasonable and wicked men” who were 
“without faith.” By this we are given to 
understand that Paul knew himself to be a 
man of like infirmities with other men and 
that he was afraid of being allured from 
truth and righteousness by the wiles of 
wicked men. We all stand on_ slippery 
places. “Let him that thinketh he standeth 
take heed lest he fall.” 

But Paul asks for nothing without an 
adequate return; he assures these friends 
that while they are praying for him he will 
also be praying for them; first, that their 
hearts may be directed “into the love of 
God”; and second, into the “patient waiting 
for Christ”; and he affirms his “confidence” 
in the result of this mutual intercession. 
Verily, “more things are wrought by prayer 
than this world dreams of!” 

The rest of the Epistle is given to such 
practical exhortations as would naturally 


476" LIFE. AND LE TIERS OF Sto vAuL 


occur to a wise shepherd in caring for his 
flock. For one thing, they are urged to 
“withdraw themselves” from those who have 
been making trouble; and for another, to 
admonish these mischief-makers not unkindly 
but “as brethren.” Still further they are 
enjoined to give up watching the skies for 
the Lord’s return and attend to business; 
“for we hear that there are some which walk 
among you disorderly, working not at all.” 

The purpose of the Apostle, namely, to 
repair the damage wrought by the forged 
letter, is now accomplished and_ nothing 
remains but to pronounce his usual benedic- 
tion, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
be with you all.” 

It is easy to imagine how this letter was 
received at Thessalonica, with what search- 
ings of heart and reconsecration to duty and 
vows of “patient waiting for Christ.” 

It is related that on the morning of the 
historic “Dark Day” a member of the Legis- 
lature of Connecticut, then in session, moved 
to adjourn in view of the fact that the world 
was probably coming to an end, whereupon 
the presiding officer ordered the candles to be 


PAUL’S LETTERS 477 


lit and business continued, saying: “If this 
really betokens the coming of Christ, he 
could not find us better employed than at our 
usual tasks.” Good advice for us and for all 
who love his appearing. 


FIRST TIMOTHY 


THE YOUNG MINISTER 


In the year 53 Paul was stoned at Lystra. 
(Acts 14:6-20.) His ministry there, how- 
ever, was not fruitless. His bleeding and 
miserable body was cared for by a Jewess 
named Kunice, and her son Timothy, who 
was destined to play a conspicuous part in the 
subsequent history of the Church. An ex- 
traordinary friendship sprang up between the 
Apostle and this “gentle boy of Lystra,” 
whom he called his “own son in the faith.” 

In the year 63, 1.e., twelvé years after, this 
young man was settled as minister of the im- 
portant church at Ephesus. It was a difficult 
field. The Christians there—‘“a feeble folk 
like the conies”—were overshadowed by the 
pomp and circumstance of “great Diana,” 
whose temple was accounted one of the seven 
wonders of the world. But, worse than that, 


they were divided among themselves, owing 
478 


PAUL’S LETTERS 479 


to the influence of certain false teachers who 
had “crept in among them.” 

In the years that imtervened between 
Timothy’s conversion and the writing of this 
letter, many things happened. fPaul had 
passed through all sorts of vicissitudes, 
including a weary imprisonment at Cesarea, 
and subsequently in the Praetorian camp at 
Rome. 

At the time of this writing he had left 
Rome, after an acquittal or release of some 
sort, and, despite his age and oft infirmities, 
had apparently set out upon another mis- 
sionary tour in the hope of even reaching 
Spain. It was somewhere on this journey— 
a journey which was presently to come to a 
tragic end—that Paul, with a heart longing 
for home and fellowship, sat down to write 
this letter to his young successor in the pas- 
torate of the Ephesian church, 


A PASTORAL CHARGE 
- AS TO PREACHING 
CHAPTER | 
It would appear that certain ones in 
Ephesus were trying to persuade the young 


480 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


minister to turn aside from the Gospel unto 
“fables and endless genealogies, which,” says 
Paul, “minister questions rather than godly 
edifying.” Fables, speculations, religion by 
inheritance, “science falsely so called,” philos- 
ophy, politics — these beckoned to Timothy 
no more alluringly than they do to the young 
minister in our time: wherefore, this Pastoral 
Charge of the great Apostle is quite abreast 
of the age. 

The point of his charge is, Preach the 
Word. He would have Timothy hew to the 
line and not be “swerved aside’’—aside from 
what? From the Word, which, as he says, 
consists in brief of a presentation of the jus- 
tice and love of God. 

(1) God’s justice is set forth in his Law 
(verses 8-10). But inasmuch as by the Law 
all alike are “concluded under sin,” the 
preacher must move his pulpit over from Si- 
nai to Calvary; as it is written, “The Law is 
our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ.” 

(2) God’s love is set forth in the sacrifice 
of Christ. “The end of the commandment is 
love” (verse 5). Was ever love like that of the 
spotless Son of God, who gave himself for 


PAUL'S LETTERS 481 


us? To exalt that sacrifice is the prime busi- 
ness of every minister; as Jesus said, “I, if I 
be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” 
What other magnet do we need? Why turn 
aside to adventitious attractions when Christ 
so clearly promises to do the “drawing” for 
us? 

The pith of the whole matter is in the 
“faithful saying” which the Pastor Emeritus 
of the Ephesian Church here prescribes to his 
young successor as the subject matter of all 
worth-while sermons, namely, “that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 


AS TO PUBLIC WORSHIP 


CHAPTER 2 


One of the most important parts of the 
service of the sanctuary is the minister’s 
prayer. It is, indeed, not his prayer, but that 
of the whole congregation speaking through 
him. It behooves him therefore to keep a | 
guard upon his lips; and it behooves the peo- 
ple to follow him with one accord as he “lifts 
up holy hands unto God.” 

In this official prayer mention is to be made 
of “kings and all in authority, that we may 


482 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godli- 
ness and honesty.” But suppose some Nero 
is on the throne? All the more reason for 
us to be praying that he may turn from his 
wicked ways. 

We observe here an important injunction 
as to the behavior of the Ephesian women at 
these public services. ‘They were to present 
themselves “in modest apparel,” and while 
the services were going on they were enjoined 
to keep silence, deferring to the male mem- 
bers of the church. There was a special 
reason for this in the fact that the unclean 
profession of the priestesses of Diana was 
advertised by their gay apparel and loud 
behavior. In like circumstances the same 
counsel must needs be given in these days. 


AS TO CHURCH GOVERNMENT 


CuHapter 3 


We are here advised with respect to official 
positions in the church: of which two are 
mentioned, and only two, namely, bishops 
and deacons. (Phil. 1:1.) 

(1) Bishops. The word here is episcopos, 
meaning overseer. which is used interchange- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 483 


ably with presbuteros, or elder. (See Acts 
20:17, 28, etc.) There were two kinds of 
elders, viz., (a) teaching elders or preachers, 
and (b) ruling elders, whose special function 
was to govern in spiritual affairs. (1 Tim. 
5:17; 1 Pet. 5:1-4, etc.) The qualifications 
for the bishopric in both the teaching’ and 
ruling class are here given in detail (verses 


1-7). 


(2) Deacons. The business of the deacons 
was, in general terms, to look after the tem- 
poral affairs of the church and, more par- 
ticularly, to see that adequate provision was 
made for the poor. (Acts 6:1-6.) The qual- 
ifications for the diaconate are also given in 
detail (verses 8-10). 


(3) Their Wives (verse 11). Here is 
something to make a note of. It is safe to say 
that nowadays, even in the choice of a min- 
ister, too little attention is given to the min- 
ister’s right hand and right eye, to wit, his 
wife. And when it comes to the election of 
ruling elders and deacons, few questions are 
asked concerning their better halves. This, 
Paul gives us to understand, was not so in 


494° LIFE AND DETERS OF sl BAGH 


the early church. Query: is not the old way 
the better way ? 

This chapter ends with a closing hymn: 
Subject, The Mystery of Godliness. 


“Great is the mystery of godliness: 

God was manifest in the flesh (John 1:14), 
Justified in the Spirit (Matt. 3:16), 

Seen of angels (Luke 2:18, etc.), 
Preached unto the Gentiles (Eph. 8:1-9), 
Believed on in the world (Rom. 16:25-27), 
Received up into glory” (Acts 1:9). 


AS TO PERSONAL CHARACTER 


CHAPTER 4 


The young minister is here reminded of 
the importance of illustrating his preaching 
in his walk and conversation. The “seduc- 
ing spirits’ of HKphesus were all the while 
beckoning him away from a consistent Chris- 
tian life. “Take heed to thyself,” says Paul; 
“Exercise thyself unto godliness”; “Be thou 
an example of the believers”; “Let no man 
despise thy youth.” The “charges” delivered 
at the installation of young ministers in our 
time are practically all based on this ancient 


PAHS S (Ie VERS 485 


charge of Paul to Timothy: and they echo 
this wholesome advice as to the translation 
of doctrine into life. 


AS TO THE CURE OF SOULS 


CHApTeER 5 


There is no more difficult art than that of 
fault-finding; and it devolves on every faith- 
ful minister to master it. For discipline, 
though practically abandoned in our time, is 
as necessary as ever to the peace and order 
and well-being of the church. Timothy is 
here advised: first, as to the proper method of 
dealing with the older and younger men 
(verse 1) ; second, with the older and younger 
women (verse 2); third, with the widows 
(4-16). Here the problem becomes more 
complex: for, owing to social conditions in 
pagan communities, there were countless 
“grass widows” who, as dependents and of- 
tentimes lewd outcasts, were only too glad to 
take advantage of the “deacons’ fund” even 
at the expense of a spurious confession of 
faith. This will explain the importance of 
careful discrimination between those who 


486 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


were “widows indeed” and those who were 
“wanton, wancering about from house to 
house” as “‘tattlers” and “busybodies, speak- 
ing things which they ought not.” Fourth, 
as to the supervision to be exercised by elders 
of both the teaching and the ruling class 
(verses 17-20). 


This brochure on Discipline ends with a 
solemn injunction as to impartiality. In the 
administration of order in church affairs the 
bishop, i.e., minister, is to be no respecter of 
persons. He must remember that all alike 
are imperfect, the difference being largely in 
the measure of prudent concealment. Some 
men wear their hearts on their sleeves, so that 
their sins go trumpeting before them to judg- 
ment; while others are not found out until 
their sins unheralded rise up to condemn 
them. ? 


(At this point a brief parenthesis is intro- 
duced with reference to Timothy’s scrupu- 
losity in refusing to take wine even in the 
form of a medicine. Paul suggests that he 
would do well to let the physician prescribe 
for him.) 


PAGD SPEER TPERS 487 


AS TO SERVICE IN GENERAL 


Cuaprer 6 


(1) There were both masters and servants 
in the Ephesian church; or, as we would say 
nowadays, both employers and employes. 
The apostle here proposes the Christian solu- 
tion—and the only ultimate solution—of the 
problem of Capital and Labor, namely, a 
mutual attitude of brotherhood, or, in other, 
words, of mutual service. “Live and _ let 
live” is but a paraphrase of the Golden Rule 
of Christ. As he came “not to be ministered 
unto, but to minister,’ so must his followers 
serve one another in a spirit of fraternal 
love. 


(2) This shuts out the desire of gain as 
the ruling motive of service. Not money, 
but the love of money, is indeed “a root of 
all evil.” On the other hand, however, “god- 
liness with contentment is great gain.” To 
serve in the spirit of Christ is its own reward. 
No doubt Timothy could have earned a bet- 
ter salary than he was getting in the pas- 
torate of the E/jphesian church, but the Lord’s 
“penny at evening’”—a penny bearing the 


488 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


image of the King with the superscription, 
“Well done, good and faithful servant’”— 
would compensate him abundantly for all the 
sacrifices and hardships of his ministerial 


life. 


(3) Therefore, “O Timothy, keep that 
which is committed to thy trust.” No doubt 
there were times when the young minister 
was tempted to wish for a larger parish with 
‘a better salary, but his foster father in Christ 
urges him to “abide still at Ephesus,” and 
be loyal to the solemn trust which had been 
reposed in him. 

And then this most impressive and exem- 
plary “Charge to the Pastor” closes with the 
best of benedictions in the familiar words, 
“Grace be with thee. Amen.” 


XI 


SECOND TIMOTHY 


THE APOSTLE’S FAREWELL 


You will remember that Paul wrote his 
first letter to Timothy after his first impris- 
onment at Rome, while on a missionary jour- 
ney. He was presently rearrested and 
brought back. He was now (A. D. 66) in 
the Mammertine jail awaiting his summons 
to death. These were the circumstances 
under which this second letter was written to 
his “beloved son.” 

The underground jail in which the old mis- 
sionary spent his closing days is still shown 
and is as well identified as any of the antiq- 
uities of the Imperial City. A door has 
been made for the convenience of visitors, but 
Paul was probably let down through the cir- 
cular opening which still remains in the ceil- 
ing. It is a noisome place. In the wall is a 
rusted ring to which, the attendant tells you 
with all confidence, the prisoner was chained. 

489 


490) Ve BIFE CAN DILE TL PERS*OF Sie ePAU E 


There in lonely submission to his Master s 
will he awaited the footfall of his executioner; 
and by the dim light through the roof of 
his dungeon he wrote this last farewell. 

There are only four chapters, and each has 
its keynote. That of the first chapter is 
Remember. Were Paul revives his memories 
of the old home at Lystra, when his wounds 
had been bandaged and cared for by Mother | 
Eunice and Grandmother Lois and where 
Timothy had espoused the faith. 

(1) He enjoins Timothy to “stir up the 
gift that is in him.” What that gift was he 
does not say, but presumably it was one of 
those charismata or spiritual gifts with which 
the Lord’s people were equipped for service. 
(See Eph. 4:4-16.) Whatever a Christian’s 
gift may be, it behooves him to stir it up 
continually, lest the fire die down into the 
dull embers of spiritual apathy. 

(2) He exhorts him to guard “thet good 
thing which was committed unto _ thee, 
through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in 
us.” This trust was the Gospel, of which 
every Christian is a steward, under bonds to 
dispense it to the glory of God. 


PAUL SEE TEERS 491 


The keynote of the second chapter is “Be 
strong.’ It is pathetic to hear this old man, 
small of stature and of feeble physique, dwell- 
ing so strenuously on the importance of being 
strong. He could not be an athlete, but Tim- 
othy must be. He could not be a soldier, but 
Timothy must fight for mastery. He him- 
self could only be patient now. “Be not 
ashamed of my sufferings, for in them I do 
fill up the measure of the sufferings of 
Christ. As for thyself, however, be strong; 
be a wise contender in the games, that thou 
mayest win the crown; be a good soldier of 
Jesus Christ; be an able workman, needing 
not to be ashamed, rightly handling the 
word of truth!” 

It is easy to be a minimum Christian, but 
maximum is Paul’s word to Timothy. It is 
easy to stand in the market place with folded 
hands waiting for a job; but when the Master 
comes this way pointing to the yellow harvest 
and saying, “Come thou and reap with me,” 
the quality of our Christian life depends on 
how we answer him. 

The keynote of the third chapter is Con- 
tinue. “For grievous times shall come” when 


492 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


men shall have “a form of godliness while 
denying the power thereof; from such turn 
away.” 


(1) Continue in “the power of godliness.” 
What is that? It is the opposite of “the 
form” of godliness. It is a Christian pro- 
fession translated into character and useful- 
ness. It is a name written not only on a 
church roster but in the Lamb’s book of life 
for faithfulness. It is religion as a business 
and not as an avocation for odd moments. 
It is a dynamic for service and not a mere 
sentiment for tears and prayers. 


(2) Continue in “the knowledge of the 
truth.” And here is where the Scriptures 
come in. “But continue thou in the things 
which thou hast learned and hast been assured 
of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 
and that from a child thou hast known the 
holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee 
wise unto salvation through faith which is in 
Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by 
inspiration of God and is profitable for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- 
tion in righteousness: that the man of God 


PAUL SAGE ERS A93 


may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto 
all good works.” (3:14-17.) 


The young man is here advised that there 
are professing Christians in his parish who 
are “ever learning and never able to come to 
the knowledge of the truth,” because they 
have no ultimate standard of truth except 
that of their “inner consciousness” as against 
the ultimate and trustworthy authority of 
Scripture. There are such people in every 
parish, who never rest in any postulate long 
enough to say, “This I know,” but are for- 
ever going back to rediscuss the rudiments, 
which they should have settled long ago. 


The keynote of the fourth chapter is 
Preach. Preach what? “Preach the Word.” 
Why? Because “the time will come when 
they will not endure sound doctrine; but after 
their own lusts shall they heap to themselves 
teachers, having itching ears; and they shall 

turn away their ears from the truth, and 
~ shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou 
in all things, endure afflictions, do the work 
of an evangelist, make full proof of thy 
ministry.” (4:3-5.) 


494 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


By this it appears that Timothy was to 
give the people not what they craved but 
what they needed, namely, the Word of God. 
On this is conditioned the success of all 
preaching. It was not Timothy’s word that 
the people needed, but God’s Word. Here 
is the promise: “My word (not yours) shall 
not return unto me void, but shall accomplish 
that which I please and prosper in the thing 
whereunto I sent it.” 

In closing, Paul entreats Timothy to come 
to him with all haste, because, save for faith- 
ful Luke, he is alone and lonely. The winter 
is drawing on, the dungeon is cold: “When 
thou comest, bring with thee the cloak which 
I left at Troas.” 

And then farewell. “TI am now ready to be 
offered and the time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith: 
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness which the Lord, the right- 
eous Judge, shall give me at that day.” 
(4:6-8. ) 


PAUL’S LETTERS 495 


“Servant of God, well done, 
Rest from thy loved employ: 

The battle fought, the victory won, 
Enter thy Master’s joy. 

The voice at midnight came; 
He started up to hear; 

A mortal arrow pierced his frame; 
He fell, but felt no fear. 


At midnight came the cry, 
“To meet thy God prepare!’ 
He woke, and caught his Captain’s eye; 
Then, strong in faith and prayer, 
His spirit with a bound 
Left its encumbering clay; 
His tent, at sunrise, on the ground, 
A darkened ruin lay. 


The pains of death are past, 
Labor and sorrow cease, 
And, life’s long warfare closed at last, 
His soul is found in peace. 
Soldier of Christ, well done, 
Praise be thy new employ; 
And, while eternal ages run, 
Rest in thy Saviour’s joy.” 


XII 


THE EPISTLE TO TITUS 


THE PASTOR OF A HARD PARISH 


In the year 66 Paul was summoned before 
Nero and, strange to say, acquitted and set 
free. He refers to it briefly as follows: “At 
my first answer no man stood with me, but all 
men forsook me. I pray God that it may not 
be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the 
Lord stood with me and strengthened me: 
that by me the preaching might be fully 
known and that all the Gentiles might hear: 
and I was delivered out of the mouth of the 
lions? (2a Finis: Lose 72) 

On being released from custody he imme- 
diately set about preparing for another mis- 
sionary journey. We have no means of 
knowing who were chosen to be his com- 
panions on this journey, except that among 
them was Titus, a young Gentile, and prob- 
ably one of the first converted under Paul. 
It is quite possible that at the outset the 

496 


PAUL'S LETTERS 497 


missionary group made for Spain, in fulfil- 
ment of one of Paul’s long-cherished dreams. 
(Romans 15:24-28.) 

On returning from Spain they would nat- 
urally sail eastward through the Mediter- 
ranean and certainly touch at the island of 
Crete for supplies. Crete (Candia) was then 
an important place, as it has ever since con- 
tinued to be.. It was only a hundred and 
forty miles long and one quarter as wide, but 
the density of its population may be inferred 
from the fact that Virgil called it “the island 
of a hundred cities.” ‘The Cretans were no- 
torious for their sensual vices; but when Paul 
and his companions landed they found not 
a few Christians among them. It may be 
that the Gospel had been introduced by cer- 
tain Cretans who are mentioned as having 
been present in Jerusalem, thirty odd years 
before, at the Pentecostal effusion of the 
Spirit. (Acts 2:11.) In any case there were 
Christians on the island who needed care; and 
Paul was not the man to neglect them. | 

It was decided that Titus should remain 
and take charge of this difficult parish. His 
unswerving loyalty to the faith and tactful- 


498 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


ness in meeting difficult situations, as at the 
Council in Jerusalem and on other occasions 
(see Gal. 2:3-5, also 2 Cor. 12:18), were in 
evidence as qualifications for the place. It 
was not Paul’s purpose, however, to leave 
him there permanently, but only until some 
other suitable man could be sent to relieve 
Jahewb '(Abiev ey esa) 

So the ship sailed on. It was Paul’s plan 
to winter in Nicopolis and then resume his 
itinerary. Meanwhile Titus remained alone 
in Crete; and while there he received this 
letter, the Epistle to Titus, containing in- 
structions as to his work, 


AS TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CRETAN 
CHURCH 


Cuapter | 

“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that 
thou shouldest set in order the things that are 
wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as 
I had appointed thee.” 

It was no small task to “set in order” the 
affairs of Christians in a hundred cities and 
bind them together in due form under 
ordained elders. It is safe to say that these 
believers, having been so long without com- 


PAUL'S LETTERS 499 


petent teachers and leaders, had the loosest 
sort of notions as to the duties and. responsi- 
bilities of the Christian life. 


And consider their surroundings. The 
people of the island were proverbially vicious. 
To begin with, they were indolent, or, to use 
Paul’s homely phrase, “slow bellies.” Many 
of them were wreckers; having no means of 
gaining a livelihood but by luring vessels to 
ruin on the rocky coasts and plundering 
them. 


And they were known everywhere for their 
untruthfulness. “The Cretans,” says Paul, 
quoting from Epimenides, one of their own 
teachers, “are always liars.” ‘This is a vice 
common to all Oriental peoples, who are 
habitually secretive and averse to making a 
clean breast of anything; but the Cretans 
were accorded a singular pre-eminence in this 
particular. 


Their third notorious vice was sensuality. 
Paul speaks of them as “evil beasts,” which 
is usually regarded as having reference to 
gluttony; but gluttony does not cover the 
case. ‘They were addicted to other and baser 


500 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


indulgences of the flesh, which must be left 
to the imagination rather than spoken of. 
Now these were the people among whom a 
handful of Christians, without the guidance 
of teachers or the support of organization, 
had been trying for years to maintain their 
spiritual life. Surely Titus had a difficult 
task before him. 
THE YOUNG MINISTER IS FURTHER ENJOINED TO 


LOOK TO THE ORTHODOXY OF 
HIS PARISHIONERS 


CHAPTER 2 


“Speak thou the things which become 
sound doctrine.” <A literal translation of the 
word orthodoxy is “straight teaching,” which 
was what the Cretans needed. It goes with- 
out saying that, after so long neglect, they 
had fallen into many errors of belief. We 
are inclined to over-emphasize the prevalence 
of heresy in the churches of our time; the 
fact being that the early Christians—before 
the historic creeds or symbols of belief were 
formulated—had to be constantly recalled 
from doctrinal aberrations to the necessity of 
standing by the faith once for all delivered to 
the saints. It would be strange, indeed, con- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 501 


sidering their environment, had the Cretans 
needed no special correction and no “straight 
teaching” as to the fundamental doctrines 
that center in Christ. 

This injunction of Paul is logically fol- 
lowed by another, to wit: that Titus shall 
see to it that his parishioners “adorn the doc- 
trine”; which means, of course, that they live 
up to it. For “faith without works is dead”’; 
in other words, it is no faith at all. Ortho- 
doxy saves nobody unless it is translated into 
the terms of daily life. Straight teaching 
must, therefore, be followed up by the incul- 
cation of straight living. 

At this point the Apostle becomes very 
specific, advising the aged men and women, 
then the young men and women, and then the 
slaves as to how they can best show them- 
selves “patterns of good works”; and _ his 
advice is based upon the fact that Christ 
had died for us “that he might redeem us 
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a 
peculiar people, zealous of good works.” 

Those who think that the Apostle James 
was at odds with the Apostle Paul as to the 
necessity of good works in the scheme of sal- 


502 OISERE PANDA IER SoG Et Sei aL 


vation will do well to stop, look and listen a 
while. 
THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE IS HERE ENJOINED, 


FIRST TO CHRIST, AND THEN TO THE 
POWERS THAT BE 


CHAPTER 3 


It was necessary to remind these people, 
belonging to a lawless community, that as 
Christians they must be in subjection to mag- 
istrates because, however inefficient those 
magistrates might be as. executives of law 
and order, they were “ordained by God.” 

The young minister having been thus duly 
enjoined to “exhort and rebuke,” the rest of 
the brief Epistle is taken up with affectionate 
greetings, and it closes, of course, with the 
benediction, “Grace be unto you.” 

How Titus succeeded in his hard parish we 
have no means of knowing: but we may rest 
assured that he did his best, leaning hard on 
God. In the centuries that have intervened 
between then and now the island has not 
lacked for Christian witnesses. It has long 
been under the political domination of the 
Turks, but the religion of the false prophet 
has never gained a substantial foothold there. 


PAUL’S LETTERS 503 


The prevailing form of worship has always 
been that of the Greek Church; and _ inas- 
much as the island has recently been restored 
to Greece by the arbitrament of war, there is 
reason to hope for better days. 

It is related that while Dr. Guthrie was 
minister in the Cowgate at Edinburgh, he 
was visited by his friend, Dr. Chalmers, 
whose parish was of a very different sort. 
One night as they stood together on one of 
the bridges over the ravine which divides the 
old city from the new, looking down upon 
“the Cowgate” with its surging throng of 
submerged souls, Dr. Guthrie turned to his 
friend and said with tears in his voice, “O 
Chalmers, this is my golden field! See them, 
the dear reckless people, whom the Lord has 
given me to win for him!” 

So must Titus have thought of his Cretan 
parish. It was his golden field! But the 
probability is that his pastorate was a brief 
one. It was Paul’s purpose to send Artemas 
or Tychicus to relieve him as soon as pos- 
sible; and then he wrote to Titus: “Be dili- 
gent to come unto me to Nicopolis, for I have 
determined there to winter.” 


504 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


It is a true saying, Man proposes, but God 
disposes. Paul planned, after wintering at 
Nicopolis, to resume his missionary journey, 
taking ‘Titus with him. But instead of win- 
tering in Nicopolis, he summered in heaven. | 
He was rearrested and carried back to Rome, 
where, at his second trial, sentence of death 
was passed upon him. Somewhere outside 
the walls the tired missionary bowed his head 
to the axe, closed his dim old eyes and, a 
moment later, opened them in the Kingdom 
of God. 


XIII 


THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON 


“THE POLITE EPISTLE” 


Keynote: “For Love’s Sake” 


As a rule the letters of Paul are distin- 
guished for strength rather than for rhetor- 
ical finish: In this one, however, he betrays 
the scholarly culture which he had received 
in the University of Jerusalem, where he sat 
at the feet of Gamaliel. “the Flower of the 
Law.” 


It is the only letter addressed by Paul to 
a layman. His other Epistles were either 
general, parochial or pastoral; but here he 
writes to a private friend; and for this reason 
the letter affords an interesting sidelight into 
the writer’s personal life and character. 

And it was written with Paul’s own hand. 
In other cases he made use of an amanuensis, 
which was necessary not only by reason of his 
age and infirmities, but because he was a pris- 

505 


506 VS LIFEVAN DYED LERS Ob ts be PA is 


oner in chains. Here, however, the writing 
is his very own. It is safe to say the lines 
were uncertain and the characters rude; but 
what would we not give to see that tremulous 
autograph: “I, Paul, with mine own hand. 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with 
your spirit”! 

The letter is chiefly remarkable, however, 
for its broad spirit of humanity. It touches 
on one of the greatest of social questions and 
in doing so lays a mighty emphasis on the 
brotherhood of man. Nowhere else does the 
great Apostle so uncover his breast as in this 
little letter addressed to Philemon as his spir- 
itual son. 

It carries us back to the year 56, when 
Paul was sojourning in Ephesus. He 
preached there for a period of two years, 
making his headquarters in the lecture room 
of Tyrannus. Meanwhile he extended his 
ministry by frequent itineraries among the 
outlying towns. 

One of these towns was Colosse. There he 
made the acquaintance of a weaver whose 
name was Philemon. It was natural that 
Paul, who made his living by the kindred 


PAUL'S LETTERS 507 


trade of tentmaking, should cultivate friendly 
relations with him. In due time, almost as a 
matter of course, this weaver was converted 
to Christ. His wife, Apphia, and his son, 
Archippus, were also baptized; and presently 
we hear of “the church in the house of Phile- 
mon,” which was destined to play an import- 
ant part in subsequent events. In this house 
Paul was accustomed to hold divine service, 
with the family and neighbors gathered about 
him. The slaves of Philemon, of whom he 
probably had a considerable number engaged 
in his shop and warehouse, were present at 
these services. 

So it happened that Onesimus, one of these 
slaves, heard the Gospel. His heart, no doubt 
embittered by his bondage, was poor soil for 
the good seed. He could not forget the dis- 
tant home, from which he had probably been 
carried away in some Roman raid. The in- 
justice of his bonds rankled within him. He 
was at odds with fate, with his master, and 
with God. 

All this was seven years before the writing 
of this letter. In the meantime many things 
have happened. Paul had gone hither and 


508. LIFE - ANDILETTLERS Ossi) PAUL 


yon on his missionary journeys, crossing the 
deserts and climbing the mountains to preach 
the Gospel of Christ. He had endured 
“perils of robbers, perils of his own country- 
men, perils by the heathen, perils in the city, 
perils in the wilderness and perils in the sea.” 
He had known “weariness and painfulness, 
hunger and thirst, fastings and cold and nak- 
edness.” He had been stoned more than once 
and had suffered shipwreck. Five times he 
had received forty stripes save one. He had 
tasted prison fare in many cities. He had 
passed two dreary years in the Castle at 
Cesarea; after which, falling back on _ his 
rights as a Roman citizen, he had made his 
appeal to Cesar. Reaching Rome at length, 
through many vicissitudes, he was taken to 
the Praetorian camp and kept as a prisoner 
of importance with guards chained to his 
wrists. He was, however, allowed a certain 
measure of freedom, being permitted to dwell 
in his own hired house and receive his friends. 
His preaching at this time was fruitful in 
many conversions, among whom were some of 
the attendants in Cesar’s palace. The hired 


PAUL’S LETTERS 509 


house of Paul was the resort of many seekers 
after truth. 

One day a wretched man in rags and 
tatters came to visit him. He was worn and 
emaciated, with a hunted look in his eyes. It 
was the slave Onesimus, who had heard the 
Gospel in the house of Philemon so long ago. 
Paul ‘received him, won his confidence and 
brought him to the saving knowledge of 
Christ. Then came his confession: he had 
escaped from Colosse and made his way 
through danger and difficulty to Rome, a 
thousand miles away! It sounds like the 
stories we used to hear of negroes fleeing 
through the Dismal Swamp with bloodhounds 
baying behind them. The runaway had 
hoped, no doubt, to lose himself among the 
throngs of Rome; for there is no wilderness 
like a great city. But conscience pursued 
him. He confessed to Paul that he was not 
only a fugitive but a thief. He had robbed 
his master. How could he become a Chris- 
tian with that awful shadow over him? The 
advice of Paul was that he should at once 
return to his master and give himself up. 


S10 “LTFECAN Deb LERS OF Sol PAL 


These were the circumstances under which 
this letter was written. Onesimus himself was 
charged with its safe transmission to Colosse, 
and he was a voluntary postman. “Haste, 
post, haste!” Imagine the meeting of this 
runaway slave and his master! 

The letter is very brief, consisting of a 
single chapter only twenty-five verses ‘long; 
but what a multum in parvo! 

Greeting (verses 1-3) from Paul and Tim- 
othy, his “brother,” to Philemon, his wife 
Apphia and son Archippus (see Col. 4:17), 
together with the church in their house, 
“Grace to you, and peace.” 

Introduction (4-9). The request which 
Paul is about to make of Philemon demands 
the exercise of consummate tact. Observe 
now the tact and tactics of this clever dialec- 
ticlan: he does not plunge abruptly in medias 
res, but puts Philemon in remembrance of his 
indebtedness to Paul for having conveyed to 
him “every good thing which was in him” by 
the faith of the unspeakable riches of Jesus 
Christ; “wherefore,” says the writer, “though 
I might enjoin thee, yet for love’s sake, I 
rather beseech thee.” 


PAUL'S LETTERS DET 


The Business in Hand (10-22). It is easy 
to imagine the scene: Philemon in his door- 
way at Colosse, facing his former slave, who 
awaits with anxiety a decision that means 
everything to him. The master reads, “I 
beseech thee for my son Onesimus.” He 
knows what that means; for he is himself one 
of Paul’s large family of spiritual sons. Is 
this runaway slave of his, now trembling at 
his threshold, indeed a brother in Christ? 
Then, truly, their relations are changed. And 
this is what Paul now proceeds to show in a 
threefold request. 

First (10-14), he bespeaks a welcome for 
Onesimus: “Thou, therefore, receive him as 
mine own heart.” 

Second (15-17), he asks Philemon to re- 
ceive this runaway bondman as a fellow- 
worker in spiritual things: “If thou count 
me therefore a partner, receive him as my- 
self,” i.e. no longer as a menial, but as a 
brother beloved and as a profit-sharer in the 
service of Christ. Here verily is the true 
Christian spirit; for in this fellowship there is 
neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, 
bond nor. free; but Christ is all and in all, 


512: LIFE AND*UP PLERS OF SIRS RAUL 


Third (18, 19), he asks that Onesimus may 
be forgiven of whatever wrong or injury he 
may have done his master. ‘This includes the 
money that he had stolen from him. “If he 
oweth thee aught,” says Paul, “put that on 
mine account. I, Paul, have so written with 
mine own hand; I will repay it.” This sounds 
like a promissory note; and considering the 
financial status of Paul, it could scarcely be 
expected that he would ever pay it. He re- 
minds Philemon, however; that he has a run- 
ning account with him and that he proposes 
to draw on it, “Albeit, I do not say to thee 
how thou owest unto me even thine own self.” 
He engages, however, that Onesimus. shall 
make all possible restitution, saying, “He 
who was in time past unprofitable shall now 
be profitable unto thee.” * 





*A letter written by Pliny to his friend Sabinianus, in behalf 
of a runaway slave, is referred to as furnishing a singular 
parallel to this Epistle of Paul. In that letter, which is here 
given, it will be observed that, notwithstanding its beautiful 
spirit, there is no mention of equality or brotherly love. “Pliny 
to Sabinianus, greeting: Your freedman, whom you lately men- 
tioned to me with displeasure, has been with me, and threw 
himself at my feet with as much submission as he could have 
done at yours. He earnestly requested me, with many tears, 
and even with all the eloquence of silent sorrow, to intercede 
for him; in short, he convinced me by his whole behavior that he 
sincerely repents of his fault. I am persuaded he is thoroughly 


PAUL’S LETTERS aS 


So runs the philosophy of the Gospel. 
Down go the artificial walls of caste! How 
hard it is for us to realize this. We are slow 
to admit that blood is thicker than water; 
and that in the atoning blood of Christ a 
kinship is created which bridges the gulf be- 
tween prince and peasant, between master 
and man, between the stately housewife and 
Cinderella at her kitchen fire. 

The remainder of this brief E:;pistle is taken 
up with salutations and the benediction, “The 


reformed, because he seems deeply sensible of his guilt. I 
know you are angry with him, and I know it is not without 
reason; but clemency can never exert itself more laudably than 
when there is the most cause for resentment. You once had 
an affection for this man, and, I hope, will have again; in the 
meanwhile, let me only prevail with you to pardon him. If he 
should incur your displeasure hereafter, you will have so much 
the stronger plea in excuse for your anger as you show your- 
self the more exorable to him now. Concede something to his 
youth, to his tears and to your own natural mildness of temper; 
do not make him uneasy any longer, and I will add, too, do 
not make yourself so; for a man of your benevolence of heart 
cannot be angry without feeling great uneasiness. I am afraid, 
were I to join my entreaties with his, I should seem rather to 
compel than request you to forgive him. Yet I will not scruple 
even to unite mine with his; and in so much the stronger terms, 
as I have very sharply and severely reproved him, positively 
threatening never to interpose again in his behalf. But though 
it was proper to say this to him, in order to make him more 
fearful of offending, I do not say so to you. I may, perhaps, 
again have occasion to entreat you upon his account, and again 
obtain your forgiveness; supposing, I mean, his fault should 
be such as may become me to intercede and you to pardon, 
Farewell.” 


514 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your 
spirit.” 

Let us accompany Onesimus on his return 
to Colosse with this letter in hand. He pre- 
sents himself at his owner’s door—for the last 
time at the back door. Observe the masterful 
look in Philemon’s face. He is thinking, 
perhaps, of the bastinado; and in common 
justice the runaway thief deserves it. But as 
Philemon reads, his countenance changes; the 
angry wrinkles are smoothed out; a warm 
hand is extended: “Welcome, Onesimus, my 
brother in Christ.” 

So ends the story, like the “Mystery of 
Edwin Drood,” with a long dash. But tradi- 
tion furnishes the sequel; it says that Onesi- 
mus became a faithful toiler in the shop of 
Philemon, that he lived a consistent Christian 
life, that in later years he became pastor of 
the Colossian church, and finally sealed his 
faithfulness with martyrdom. If so, there 
must have been a fine greeting at heaven’s 
gate when Paul, who had been beheaded be- 
neath the walls of Rome, met the slave who 


had just arrived at heaven’s gate in a chariot 
of fire. 


PAUL’S LETTERS 515 


There are two practical thoughts suggested 
by this letter. 

The first is the power of the Gospel to 
revolutionize the character of a man. In 
Luther’s exposition of this Scripture he says, 
“We are all Onesimi”; by which I suppose 
he means that we are all fugitives from law 
and justice; “for there is no difference; all 
have sinned and come short of the glory of 
God.” We are runaways from truth and 
duty, from conscience and from God. 

And to all alike the Gospel offers a free 
pardon. The plea which Christ makes for 
us sinners is the same that Paul made in be- 
half of the fugitive slave. He takes our place 
at the bar of the offended law, saying, “If - 
this man hath wronged thee or oweth thee 
aught, put that to mine account. I, Christ, 
with mine own hand, I will repay it!” 

Nor is that all. He proposes to recon- 
struct us; so that whereas we have been un- 
profitable servants, we may now be profitable 
to God. He turns us right about face. He 
regenerates us by his Spirit; so that “old 
things are passed away and, behold, all 
things are become new.” One who _ truly 


516° ‘LIFE AND LETTERS OF 577 PAUL 


submits himself to the power of Christ gets a 
new mind, a new heart, a new conscience, 
and a new will. Is there any power on earth 
except the Gospel which can do this? We 
speak of the mystery of regeneration; but 
however mysterious it may be, there is no 
denying it. The miracle is constantly going 
on. How often have we seen a drunkard 
taken out of the gutter and set upon his feet 
by the grace of God! How often have we 
seen a forlorn woman taken out of her shame 
and restored to character and self-respect by 
the Gospel! We may not be able to under- 
stand or explain it; but blessed be God, we 
are familiar with it. 

The other truth that lingers with us is the 
power of the same Gospel to transform the 
world. We have been wondering, no doubt, 
why Paul in this letter to Philemon did not 
denounce slavery in scathing terms. What 
an opportunity he had for the use of dyna- 
mite just there! But this is not the divine 
way of doing things. God works in the calm 
logic of events. “The eternal years are his.” 

As to the horrible evil of human bondage 
there is no manner of doubt nor ever was. — 


PAUL SI LETTERS 517 


The slave-market in Rome was the industrial 
center of the world at the beginning of the 
Christian era. The Roman armies went forth 
to conquest and returned with long proces- 
sions of captives who were exposed for sale 
like cattle in the market. There were only 
two thousand patricians or independent men 
in the city of Rome and half a million slaves. 
The auction block furnished the shops with 
toilers, the arena with gladiators, and the 
brothels with inmates. These slaves lived in 
stalls or ergastule; and when they died they 
were thrown to the fishes or cast into a pit. 
All this was horrible beyond words. God 
knew it; and he proposed to do away with it. 
But his ways are not always our ways. Christ 
came into the world to break every chain and 
bid the oppressed go free. The Gospel is 
full of abolitionism; but not that of John 
Brown of Osawatomie. There is more of 
love and less of battle in it. 

Our Lord likened the Kingdom to leaven 
which works noiselessly but in due time leav- 
ens the lump. He set certain great prin- 
ciples in motion which were destined to bring 
about the desired result. He gave the world 


DL8 > LIFE ANDILE PRERSIORS iy PAUG 


his Golden Rule: “Do unto others as ye 
would be done by.” How gloriously that 
principle has been doing its beneficent work 
in the progress of the ages! 

The world has been drawing nearer and 
nearer to the brotherhood of man as it has 
learned more and more of the Fatherhood of 
God. All civilization is to-day embraced 
within the charmed circle which we call Chris- 
tendom; and of the nations within its bounds 
there is not one which tolerates slavery. “He 
that believeth shall not make haste.” 

We are told by scientists that leaven is a 
mass of living cells; that fermentation 1s not 
death and decay, but a manifestation of life. 
So is God’s love in the world. “God is love,” 
and love is life. God has manifested himself 
in Christ, who said, “I am come that ye might 
have life, and that ye might have it more 
abundantly.” His Gospel is love alive. Its 
influence is transforming the world. Men 
and nations are drawing closer together and 
seeing face to face and eye to eye. We may 
not precipitate the Golden Age; but we can 


PAUL’S LETTERS ah 


lend a hand to bring it in. We can fall in 
with those who follow the conquering Christ 
and, by interpreting divine love in terms of 
practical life, we may hasten the coming of 
the time when all alike shall enter into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God. 


XIV 


THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 


“THE ANONYMOUS EPISTLE” 


We come now to Paul’s fourteenth letter. 
Of course you know there are those who say 
Paul did not write it. So far as the inspired 
truth of the Epistle goes it makes little or 
no difference whether he did or not; but I 
think Paul was its author, and my reasons 
are the very ones that are urged against it. 

(1) Its anonymity. The presumption is 
that Paul, having written one Epistle to the 
Romans, would not willingly close his career 
without writing another to his own country- 
men for whose salvation he professed an over- 
mastering concern. (Rom. 9:3.) © But he 
was in such bad odor with the Jews on ac- 
count of his insistence that Jesus was their 
Messiah, that he would certainly deem it un- 
wise to address them over his own name. In 
writing to the Gentiles he could boldly say, 
“TI, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, salute 

520 


PAUL'S LETTERS 521 


you,” but not in approaching a people who 
were bitterly prejudiced against him. 

(2) Its rhetorical style. They say the dic- 
tion of the Epistle is unlike Paul. No doubt, 
in some respects, this is correct; but suppose 
the original was written in Hebrew, as there 
is good reason to believe, and translated into 
Greek by his faithful and learned friend 
Luke, is it not likely that there would be 
some twisting and turning and polishing of 
rhetorical phrases in the process? Neverthe- 
less there are enough Pauline ear-marks to 
warrant the conclusion that scarcely any one 


else could have written it. 

(3) But the tout ensemble is the main argu- 
ment for its Pauline authorship. The propo- 
sition, though treated from a different stand- 
point, is precisely that of the Epistle to the 
Romans, to wit, Justification by Faith; and 
Paul stands forth above all others as the his- 
toric advocate and defender of that “‘postu- 
late of a standing or a falling church,” as 
Luther called it. The two great Epistles com- 
plement each other so perfectly that it is dif- 
ficult to account for either their agreements 


J22" " LIFE ANDER TDERSION Ss SPAUL 


or their differences except on the assumption 
that one composer was behind them. 

The title of the Epistle is The Priestly Of- 
fice of Christ. 

In the first two chapters the inspired au- 
thor shows that Jesus as our atoning High 
Priest is superior to angels. This rests upon 
his claim as the Son, the begotten Son, and 
the only begotten Son of God. “For unto 
which of the angels said he at any time, 
Thou art my son: this day have I begotten 
thee?” 

In the next two chapters he shows that 
Christ as our High Priest is superior to 
Moses, who was regarded by the Jews as 
second only to God himself. This rests upon 
the fact that Moses, however great, was a 
servant, while Christ as a Son claimed to be 
co-equal with the I’ather. ‘Then too Moses 
as representing the Law “could not enter in,” 
while Christ as “Joshua” or Jesus leads his 
people by way of Calvary into the Land of 
Rest. 

In chapters 5-8 he shows the superiority 
of Christ to Aaron. ‘This is based upon the 
fact that Aaron was a man, serving in an of- 


PAUL’S LETTERS 523 


fice “ordained of men in things pertaining 
to God,” while Christ is “a Priest forever 
after the order of Melchizedek.” The mys- 
terious figure of Melchizedek here introduced 
must not be invested with the supernatural; 
the simple and significant fact being that he 
was not of Israel nor of the Aaronic line, but 
a devout priest of some alien tribe, of whose 
history, that is, the “beginning and end of 
his days,” little or nothing was known. He 
belonged to the universal order of priesthood 
made up of those who everywhere wait upon 
God. ‘To this superior order, rather than to 
that of Aaron, did Christ belong, inasmuch 
as he dwelt beyond the horizons of all human 
ordination. 

In chapters 9, 10 he affirms the superiority 
of Christ to Levi. The family of Levi were 
the administrators of the ceremonial or Levit- 
ical Law. ‘This most elaborate cult of rites 
and ceremonies was intended to keep alive the 
Messianic hope until Christ should appear. 
When he came these types and symbols nat- 
urally and automatically ceased to be bind- 
ing, being fulfilled in him, as shadows vanish 
at the break of day. Thus it is written he 


524 LIFE AND LETTERS OF ST. PAUL 


blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances 
that was against us, which was contrary to 
us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to 
his cross; and, having spoiled principalities 
and powers, he made a show of them openly, 
triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:14, 15.) 

In chapter 11 we reach the climax of the 
argument. In this wonderful chapter we 
have “the Canticle of Faith.” 

“Now faith is the substance of things 
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 
There are those who regard believers as a 
credulous folk; but faith, so far from being 
credulity, is substantial and evidential: only 
it has to do with things beyond the purview 
of the physical senses. It has pleased God 
to equip man with a sixth sense for the ap- 
prehension of spiritual truth. By the use of 
this sense, which distinguishes him from all 
the lower orders of life, he is able, as Kepler 
said, “to think God’s thoughts after him.” 

A man without faith is a materialist, being 
shut up within the circumscription of his fin- 
ger-tips. How much better is he than a 
sheep? By faith we solve the problems that 
have to do with our eternal destiny. The 


PAUL'S LETTERS . 525 


men whose names are enshrined in this monu- 
mental eleventh of Hebrews were all heroes 
of faith. They dreamed dreams and saw vis- 
ions of something better than yellow dust or 
Sodom-apples or fading wreaths of laurel. 
They had the far-away look; and that far- 
away look was fixed on the remote figure of 
One “whom kings and prophets longed to see 
and died without the sight.” 

Now observe the strange anticlimax: 
“These all, having obtained a good report, 
through faith, received not the promise.” 
Why not? “God having provided some bet- 
ter thing for us, that they without us should 
not be made perfect.” ‘Thus do the ends of 
history come together in Christ. These fath- 
ers labored in faith and, behold, how we have 
entered into their labors. Go back to the be- 
ginning of the Epistle and read again: “God, 
who at sundry times and in divers manners 
spake in time past unto the fathers by the 
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto 
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir 
‘of all things, by whom also he made the 
worlds.” 


526. LIFE AND LETTERSjOF ST. PAUL 


This chapter really concludes with the two 
first verses of the next, in which we, as the 
heirs of our believing forefathers, are urged 
to look to Jesus as the “author and finisher” 
of faith. Great verses these: ““Wherefore, 
seeing we also are compassed about with so 
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside 
every weight, and the sin which doth so easi- 
ly beset us, and let us run with patience the 
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus 
the author and finisher of our faith; who for 
the joy that was set before him endured the 
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at 
the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 
Toles) 

Chapters 12 and 13 contain, as the logical 
terminus ad quem of all that: goes before, an 
exhortation to leave the rudiments of the 
Gospel and press on to higher levels of truth 
and character; which does not mean that we 
are to forsake the fundamentals, but to 
“leave” them as a flower leaves its bud, or a 
stream its fountain, or a growing youth his 
childhood in pressing on toward the fulness 


PAL To Vici VERS ay 


of the measure of the stature of a man. And 
this is to be done by a constant increase in 
faith as we keep our eyes fixed upon him who 
is “the author and finisher” of it. 


And then the benediction, in which the 
anonymous author betrays his identity: for 


here is the sign-manual of Paul, “Grace be 
with you all. Amen.” 


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